Stuck
by Embyr7
Summary: Cammie and her friends are back for senior year, ready to have the time of their lives. Until one day at breakfast a shooting pain so strong goes to Cammie's head and makes her collapse to the floor. The COC have planted it inside her body. It's stuck.
1. Waterfall Braid

Cammie's POV

This was happening. This was actually happening. I couldn't believe it. Of course, things like this happened all the time in the spy world. It would be surprising if it didn't, actually. But it just seemed so unreal. Even though you knew it was a possibility and that it could happen to you, you never actually think that at 16 and a half years of age, you could be at a COC base, chained to a wall.

I've been here for two weeks.

And I had to get out.

2 Days Later

The door creaked open, and a muscle-y man came in, and, without making a sound, shot me in the arm. I screamed.

3 Weeks Later

The wall about five feet from me burst open, and there he was.

"ZACH," I shrieked, struggling against my chains. His blazing green eyes shifted and moved to me, and widened when he saw me. What? Did I really look that bad? Well, considering that I've been here for about five weeks, yea. I probably did. Coated in blood, dust, tears...

"Cammie," he breathed out. That's all I heard before I blacked out.

Zach's Point of View

I burst through the wall, Grant, Bex, Lizzie, Macey, and Tristan (my roommate) waiting behind me. I looked around.

"ZACH," someone shouted. I whipped my head around and my eyes widened. Cammie was there, chained to the wall, tear stains down her skinny cheeks, her long, honey-colored hair matted with blood and dirt.

"Cammie," I sighed. She collapsed to the floor. Suddenly, about 15 of my mom's goons burst into the room, the sudden light surprising me.

"GET HER." One of them shouted, pointing at the unconscious Cammie.

"Good luck. To get her, you have to get US, first." Bex retorted, all of them having stepped out from the hole I made.

We stood there for a second, sizing each other up. Macey made the first move. She jumped and roundhouse kicked a guy in his jaw. He shrieked and grabbed Macey's hair, slamming her into the wall.  
>"OH, HELL NO. DON'T. TOUCH. MY. HAIR." She screamed. She grabbed his shirt and kicked his...area. He doubled over in pain and she punched his head, and then kicked his stomach. He flew back into the wall and went limp, unconscious.<p>

Bex and Grant were trying to unlock Cammie from the wall, having trouble since the goons kept trying to get them away from Cammie so they could take her away again. Bex lost her last nerve.

She suddenly stood up, her face practically seeming to glow with anger. She started to hurt them in ways that I could not have imagined. Grant turned quickly to make sure she was okay, and then finally got the chains unlocked with Liz and Jonas' key that was supposed to open any lock. He gently snapped them off her wrists and ankles and picked her up. He looked at me and I nodded. He ran back through the hole, and that was the last thing I could see before a goon tackled me.

Grant's POV

Woahhh there. Cammie was a lot lighter than the last time I had given her a piggy back ride through the Grant Hall the last time I saw her. At least ten pounds lighter. That can't be healthy..

I sprinted back to the waiting helicopter and handed Cammie to Mr. Solomon. I was about to turn around to go make sure Bex and the others were okay, but I already saw them sprinting towards me. I hurriedly climbed onto the helicopter before they trampled me.

1 WEEK LATER

Cammie's POV

They saved me. Zach and the others saved me. They brought me back to Gallagher and the nurse saved my life. I woke up to all of them standing by my bed crying, even Tristan, who I haven't known for a very long time. They all piled on my bed and snuck me food, which they had stuffed down their pants/jackets. It was quite a sight to see-them reaching down their pants and shirts and voila! A bag of pretzels appears in their hands. I laughed. I love them so much. Eventually the nurse caught them, and now we've been banned from the kitchen for a month. No more midnight snacks, I guess. Oh well. It's breakfast time now, and Blackthorne has done another exchange with Gallagher. I walked into the Grand Hall and smiled at my friends, who had already sat down and had saved me a seat. The girls left me a note and an outfit to wear. Since it was the first day of school, we got to wear regular clothes, since the seventh graders did not have their uniforms yet.

I was wearing a white tank top, and on top of the white tank top I was wearing a cream crochet sweater, with little crocheted flower patterns all over. It was slightly baggy. And on my legs I just had light-wash shorts, and white ballet flats. I waterfall-braided my light brown hair and curled the ends. Macey gave me a thumbs-up when I walked into the Dining Hall, telling me that she approved of my hair.

Suddenly, I stopped short. My face must have had a panicked look on it, because I heard chairs scrape against the floor and my friends surrounded me. That's when the pain started. It traveled from my bullet wound in my arm up to my head. I screamed and clutched my head, falling to my knees on the floor.


	2. COC Chip

**ZPOV**

What's happening?

"What's happening?" Grant shrieked. Hah. He read my mind. Cammie was on her knees, clutching her head, crying in pain.

Mr. Solomon and Ms. Morgan pushed through the crowds of people, and Mr. Solomon asked Cammie if she could hear him.

"Hell yes I can hear you, Mr. Solomon, you're YELLING in my EAR." she snapped. Well then.

"What's the matter?" Ms. Morgan asked.

"My head hurts. A lot." Cammie said shakily. She had crumpled to the ground, not even on her knees anymore.

"What's wrong with her?" Bex cried.

"Take her to the nurse's office." Mr. Solomon ordered. Before anyone else had the change to, I slid my arms under her back and legs and scooped her off the floor.

"Everyone back to your breakfast! There's nothing to see here." Ms. Morgan stood up and clapped her hands, her role as headmistress overtaking her role as a mother. We ran as fast as we could to the nurse's office without Cammie falling from my grip.

The nurse looked up and sighed. Seems like Cammie's been coming here too much lately.

**CPOV**

I heard everyone talking frantically, and then I felt someone scooping me up. Okay, that didn't really help the ear-splitting pain in my head. It made me want to barf up my intestines. God, I was so dizzy. Who cares about the dizziness, my heart hurts like _hell!_ They rushed me to the nurse's office, and, being the trained spy I am, I heard the nurse sigh through the painful ringing in my ears. Looks like I've been coming here too much.

"Put her on the bed. Give me some room." The nurse ordered. Whoever was carrying me placed me gently on the bed and kissed my forehead. Then I heard them all take a step back. After about five minutes, the pain slowly started to fade away. I sighed in relief. Thank god. After another five minutes, all that was left of the headache-if you can even call it a headache-was my heavily beating heart.

I fluttered my eyes open, and everyone-including the nurse-sighed in relief.

"Cam," Liz cried. "Are you okay?" Sniffle.

"Lizzie," I smiled. But what did I tell her? _Was_ I okay? I had no idea..what in the hell was wrong with me?

"What's wrong with her?" Zach demanded.

"I'm not sure yet.." the nurse frowned. Then, she touched my left arm, the area a couple inches below my shoulder.

"Ow!" I yelped.

"Don't hurt her," Zach, Bex, Macey and Grant growled.

"What is this..? The nurse kept prodding that little bump in my arm.

"That hurts!" I shouted, pulling my arm away.

"I'm sorry," the nurse said softly. "I'll try to be gentler." She took my arm again and inspected the little bump.

"Come into the X-Ray room." everyone followed me like a little herd of ducklings.

Once the X-Rays were done, **(I have no idea how long it takes to do X-rays..so let's pretend it takes like, five minutes. xD) **we all gathered around to see what was in my arm. It looked like a tiny little metal chip.

"What is that? That's IN me?" I widened my eyes.

"That," Zach said. "Is a COC chip. They must have put it in you while you were kidnapped."

"What does it do?" Tristan asked.

"It sends off these waves to the brain and causes you to have major, headaches. Like, fall to the ground and scream in pain headaches. Kind of like what Cam just did." Mr. Solomon explained.

"So, what are we waiting for? Open my arm up and get the thing out of me before it happens again!" I looked at the nurse.

"It's not that simple, Ms. Morgan. This special type of chip makes your body think that it is part of it, so it is wedged inside your bone, with your meat and muscle protecting it." the nurse explained.

"So what, is it just going to stay in her forever?" Tristan asked.

"No, just until we can find a way to get it out of her without practically ripping her arm off." Mom said.

"Okay." I sighed. "I can deal 'til then."  
>"You guys can have the rest of the day off. Take care, Cammie. You'll never know when they'll send off waves again." Mom came over and kissed the top of my head, then headed to her office. Mr. Solomon came over and rustled my hair, and went to go teach the CoveOps class. My friends and I all walked back to the guy's dorm room, because it was the closest.<p>

"Guys," I said when Bex offered to help me change. "I'm not vulnerable. I'm good as ever. See?" I dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups. Jonas scooped me up and tossed me into bed.

"The chip is going to start sending off waves again!" He said frantically.

I rolled my eyes.

"Well, since we have nothing to do, why don't we just catch up on our beauty sleep?" Macey asked, slipping into Tristan's bed. "Good night." And within five seconds, her breathing was even. I wish I had that power. To fall asleep on demand. But, unfortunately, I did not. Tristan slipped in with her, Liz and Jonas slipped into Jonas' bed, and Bex and Grant got into his bed. Zach smirked and sat next to me on his bed.

"Are you really okay, Cammie?" He asked, not looking at me.

"I am really okay, Zach." I said softly.

"Good." He turned his head and kissed me softly. I smiled against his lips and kissed him back.

"GO TO SLEEP!" Macey yelled. I jumped. Wasn't she sleeping?

Zach laughed and pulled the blanket up, and tucked both of us in. He threw his arm around my waist and snuggled his face into my neck.

"Good night.." he said before he fell asleep.

"Good night." My eyes drooped. And pretty soon, their dorm room held eight sleeping spies-in-training, each of them sleeping next to their loved one, each of them smiling, each of their hearts beating as one.


	3. Karaoke

**CPOV**

"Will Cameron Morgan, Zachary Goode, Grant Newman, Rebecca Baxter, Elizabeth Sutton, Jonas Smith, Macey McHenry and Tristan Brown please report to the headmistress's office? I repeat-"

We stood up from the Dining Room table, and we started walking there. We were grumbling about the use of our full names, as it repeated itself over the intercom.

"Come in." My mom called before we even had a chance to knock. We came in and sat down, and Zach put his arm around my shoulders.

"You eight," Mom looked at us all in the eyes seriously, "Will be going on a mission. A real mission."

Bex and I grinned and started bouncing in our seats, excited.  
>"You see, there are a group of people that Miss Morgan and I have been noticing around school." Mr. Solomon said. "We think that they're after you, Cammie. So we want you eight to leave, and you will fly to Paris. If they follow you, they're after you. We will give you a file with their pictures. If you spot them, take them down as soon as you can and figure out where they're from, and why they want you. After you have that information, call Miss Morgan or I immediately, and we will come pick you guys up. No covers, since, technically, we want them to find you." Mr Solomon explained in a rush.<p>

"Up you go. The faster you leave the better. Be careful!" My mom hugged each of us, smoothing back our hair as if we were all her children. She gave me a little kiss on the cheek, and Mr. Solomon put his hand on my head.

"Be careful." He glared at me. Then to Zach. "You." Zach's eyes snapped up. "Protect her."

"Yes, sir." Zach smirked.

We walked back to our rooms, Bex and Macey squealing about going to Paris. Liz and I linked arms and smiled, watching them pack for us. They shoved me in the bathroom. I came out wearing a flowy white shirt, and there were a lighter shade of white stripes. In the back near the top it was kind of open, with two bows connecting it. I wore light wash Abercrombie jeans, and black combat boots. Macey curled my hair lightly, and gave me a braided crown. Then she gave me two leather bracelets-one braided, the other with LOVE carved into it, and slipped it on my wrist.

"There." Macey smiled. "Perfect!"

Liz came out in a baby pink, button-up flowy tank top with ruffles surrounding the buttons in a line, the two straps connecting in the back. She also had light wash skinny jeans and wore black ankle boots. She got her hair straightened and had a white friendship bracelet attached to her wrist, and they water-fall braided her hair, connecting it in the back with a white bow.

Bex came out in a black flowy shirt that had XOXO on the front in white, cursive letters. She had on dark wash skinny jeans and high-heeled boots. She slipped her long thick hair in a ponytail, leaving some strands to frame her face.

Macey had on a blue tank top that said "All Good Things Are Wild And Free" written on it. She paired it with light wash shorts and gold sandals with blue rhinestones on them. She put on gold bangles with tiny blue gems and side-braided her waved hair.

We all had on eyeliner and mascara. We pulled out luggage out to the helicopter.

"Let this mission begin." I mumbled, taking a deep breath and stepping on to the helipcopter.

We arrived in Paris, and I was sort of shocked at how gorgeous it was! I squealed, and Zach smiled and took my hand. We arrived in our hotel room, and unpacked. We all went to the boys' room, and we all kind of sat there awkwardly for a few minutes.

"So, now we just sit here and wait for them to come to us." Jonas said, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"Mhmmm." Liz agreed.

"You know what this means?" Macey and Bex looked at each other and smirked.

"Oh, hell no!" I shrieked, sprinting to the door.  
>"Catch her!" Macey and Bex shrieked to their boyfriends. Grant and Tristan eventually caught up to me, and Grant threw me over his shoulders. I pouted.<p>

"You're mean!" Tristan just laughed. "Sorry, bud. We gotta do what we gotta do."

I used my glare on him, and he backed off. I laughed.

Macey and Bex were already setting up the karaoke machine.  
>"I don't get why you hate it so much," Bex mumbled. "You're great at singing." I sat in a corner, arms crossed, pouting. I glared at her.<p>

Liz sat by me and sulked, too. She hated it as much as I did.

"Okay. Everyone write your name down on this slip of paper." Macey handed out slips of paper and pencils. I refused to write mine down. She smirked at me.

"Oh. We already did yours for you, Cam." She laughed. I grumbled.

"First up is.." Bex fished a name out of the hat. And smirked. "Jonas." He was ruffling his hair in the back of his head, and Macey brought the microphone to him.

He sang the song Favorite Girl by the Icarus Account. And he was..not a great singer. At all. We were all laughing so hard at the end, even Jonas.

"Way to ruin a good song, buddy." Macey laughed.

Then it was Bex's turn, and of course she was the most amazing singer in the world. She sang Runaway by Megan and Liz. We were all grinning at her at the end, and we clapped loudly.

Then Liz, and she's actually an okay singer, but she sang really softly. She sang Enchanted by Taylor Swift.

Zach's turn. He smirked and took the microphone. He sang Marry You by Bruno Mars. And of course he had to be a good singer too. I pouted even more.

Then Macey. She's also amazing, but less amazing than Bex. She sang Skyscraper by Demi Lovato. Grant's up! He was horrible. He was screeching and it took all I had not to cover my ears. We were laughing so hard tears were coming out of our eyes. He looked up innocently when he was done singing I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry. "What?" He asked. We just shook our heads, chuckling.

"Next is.." Macey pulled a name out of the hat and grinned. "Cammie!"

Shoot me now.

"What song do ya wanna sing?" Bex asked, going through the list of songs.

"I don't care.." I said. "Put it on shuffle." It chose the song Fix You by Coldplay. Yes! I loved this song! I smiled softly and started singing. **(Just imagine her sounding like Jayme Dee, who did a cover of this on youtube. She's amazing! Check her out. ^_^) **

The song ended, and I put the microphone down. And then glass shattered.


	4. Owls

_The song ended, and I put the microphone down. And then glass shattered. _

**CPOV**

Liz let out a little shriek, and Jonas subconsciously sprang up and stepped in front of her. A group of COC agents had just rammed through the windows, and we all jumped to our feet.

But suddenly, a slight wave of already familiar nausea hit me, and my arm throbbed a little. Then the headache came. I closed my eyes and backed up to a wall, breathing heavily, trying to stay on my feet. I could hear my friends already fighting, trying to protect me. They must have planned this attack and my headache, so that it would be easier to get me.

Suddenly, a hand roughly grabbed my arm and yanked me, causing me to stumble and lose my footing.

"Don't _touch_ her," Zach growled, and he punched the man in the face, pulling his grip off of my arm. I fell to the floor. My headache was messing with my eyes and hearing, and all I could see were fuzzy images. All I could hear was my heart pounding, and sometimes my friends' shrieks or shouts.  
>"Zach!" I heard Grant shout. "Take Cam away from here!" I opened my eyes and brought my hands up to my ears, trying to block out the earsplitting noise. I saw Grant roundhouse kick the man attacking Zach, and Zach running towards me. He scooped me up and sprinted out the door. I cried into Zach's shirt, trying not to pass out again.<p>

He kept whispering things like, "It'll be okay," and "I'm gonna get you out of here," and "It'll stop hurting soon, Cam, I promise."

He got into one of the cars that Gallagher Academy gave us and sped away from the hotel. We drove for about twenty more minutes, and by then my headache was gone. I was still a little light-headed, but it didn't hurt anymore.

"You okay?" Zach asked quietly.

"Yea. All better." I smiled reassuringly.

"We're gonna have to find some deserted part in the woods or something and camp out there. It might not be safe to go back to the hotel yet. Bex called and she said they were fine, but they escaped and went into hiding, also. We're meeting up tomorrow." Zach explained, driving towards a large patch of gigantic, looming trees.

"You're sure they're okay?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm sure." I spotted a red patch of blood on Zach's left arm.

"But you're not." I whispered.

"You're not either." Zach said softly. I looked down, and there on my thigh, was a medium-sized cut.

"Oh. When did that get there?" I smiled crookedly, trying to make light of the situation.

"Not funny." Zach huffed. And it wasn't. There was a freaking COC chip installed into my body, giving me horrible headaches, those of which _they_ could control the timing of, and we're on a mission practically being used as bait to see if and when those people lurking around Gallagher walls were really after us, or someone else. We drove ten more minutes into the dark woods. I have to admit, I was a little scared. I locked the doors and rolled up my window, trying to block our the noises of the owls hooting.

Owls always scared me, for some reason.

He parked and was about to open his car door to get supplies from the trunk.

"No!" I shouted, gripping his hand. Then I blushed, embarrassed.

"What?" He smirked. "Scared of the woods, Gallagher Girl?"

"Absolutely not! It just might not be safe out there." I managed to get out. He winked and got out.

"I'll be fine." He said. And then, out of no where, an own with these _humongous _amber eyes flew in through Zach's open door and landed on his seat. It was probably attracted to the warmth of our car.

I couldn't help it.

I shrieked.

Like a little girl.

And worst of all?

I shrieked Zach's name. My shriek bewildered the owl, and it gave a little _hoot_ and flew out. Zach was in its place now, his eyes wide.

"Are you okay? Did the headache come back?"

"No. Just-nevermind. I'm sorry." I waved my hand dismissively, even more embarrassed now. He furrowed his eyebrows, and he motioned for me to climb to the backseat with him. He closed his door and locked all of the doors. Then he turned on one of the lights in the car. He had gotten two blankets, a pillow, and some beef jerky. It was extremely cold, and I shivered.

Zach slid off his leather jacket and draped it over my shoulders. His delicious smell practically came off of his jacket in waves, and it took all I had in me not to snatch it from my shoulders and sniff it. I smiled thankfully up at him.

That left him in his tight grey t-shirt, but he didn't seem cold at all. His strong arms were perfectly smooth, no goosebumps or anything like my pale ones. He opened the pack of jerky and felt around in the bag, and gave me the softest piece. He knew I hated the stale-tasting, hard jerky.

"Thanks." I split it in half. It wasn't fair for me to get the best one in the bag all to myself. We ate in silence for a while.

"I'm going to call them." I said. I dialed Macey's number. No one answered.

"Macey did say her phone was out of batteries.." I mumbled.

I dialed Bex. Again, no answer. Same for Jonas, Liz, Tristan, and Grant.

"Why aren't they answering?" I said frantically, calling each of them again.

"Relax." Zach soothed. "They probably didn't have time to grab their phones off the counter. We're meeting up tomorrow. Let's just get some rest."

I took a deep breath. "Fine."

We laid down, my feet near Zach's head and his near mine. This wasn't very..comfortable.

I sat up and laid the other way, so our faces were facing each other.

He smirked. "Couldn't get enough of me, Gallagher Girl?"

I rolled my eyes. "Actually, your feet just stank."

He laughed, knowing that I was lying. He hugged his arm around my waist, and my face got buried in his chest.

Yes. Much more comfortable.

"Good night, Cammie."

"'Night, Zach."

**Review, please?**


	5. We Have Them

**Hi guys![: Thank you so much for all of the reviews! I'm going to start responding to them now..because it feels weird if I don't say anything. So if you didn't review the last chapter, you may read the non-bolded area down there. That will be the story. ^_^**

**pigeonfollower: Oh. Well. Okay, then. XD I wasn't even thinking of that...hahah. Noo..they're not gonna do it..I don't think I'm gonna be capable of writing a lemon..AND this is only T. So..yea. Thanks for reviewing though.**

**Maddypatty222: I will! XD **

**Jasminepotterdemi-god22: Awwhh, thank you![: Your review made me smile. ^_^**

**Katherine White: THANK YOU! I tried to make this story a little more original..something that no one's thought of yet. Hahah **

**JinLing: You're so sweet ;D **

**: HELLO! Haven't talked to you in a while. ^_^ Thank you, love. **

**Cherry249: Ahahaha I'm terrified of owls...seriously. They creep me out, and if I were Cammie I would probably run off somewhere in the woods. But then there would be more owls. So that wouldn't be very smart. Thanks for the advice-I will try to work on that.**

**Now on to the story! **

**CPOV**

I couldn't sleep. By Zach's heartbeat, I knew he couldn't sleep, either. I was too worried for my friends.

"I can't sleep." I stated the obvious.

"Me neither." We were silent for a little.

"You know, you were a very good singer, Cammie." He smirked, thinking about karaoke. That seemed so long ago..but in reality it was only a few hours before this..mess.

I snorted. "Don't lie." But then I raised my eyebrows and looked up at him.

"But you weren't too bad yourself." I teased. He scoffed.

"_I_ was _amazing_."

I laughed. "Sure, sure. Keep on thinkin' that, bud." He pulled a hurt expression onto his face, and for a second I was about to widen my eyes and apologize. But then I realized he was joking.

"Fine. If you were that good, then sing me to sleep." I put my head back down near his warm chest and waited. He stayed silent. I giggled.

"I didn't think so." He mumbled something about this throat hurting. We talked and teased each other until about three in the morning, until finally we fell asleep.

_**MORNING**_

**ZPOV**

Ugh. I hate mornings. I have two reasons: Well, because you're tired, and it's the start of a day that might possibly turn out horribly.

And the second reason?

Cammie. She. Never. Wakes. Up. I was outside roaming around for a little until I came back to the car, thinking that she would be awake. But she wasn't. It was two in the afternoon! We have to meet Grant and the others by three.

"Cammie!" I shouted. Her face stayed peaceful, and her breathing was even. "Cam. Cam. Cam. Cam. Cam." I shook her every time I said her name.

Nothing. **"CAMERON MORGAN!"** I shouted into her ear. She jumped up and accidentally socked me in the face. My jaw flew open and my hand cupped my cheek.

"Ow!" Even though it was just a reflex, that girl could punch _hard_!

"Zach! Sorry, sorry!" She sat up and examined my cheek. "It's gonna leave a big bruise." She said sheepishly. I sighed.

"S'ok, Cam. Next time I'll wake you up with a stick, then." She laughed.

"We're meeting everyone in an hour, at the Eiffel tower." I explained.

"Okay! Let's get going, then." She crawled to the front seat and clipped herself in.

"Don't fall asleep again.." I warned, seeing her close her eyes. She opened them and rolled them.

"I wasn't going to."

I climbed into the front seat and drove out of the woods. It would take about forty five minutes (forty five minutes and forty nine seconds, if you were wondering..) to get there. We drove, and Cammie turned on the radio. A bunch of really good songs came on, and Cammie couldn't help but sing along. So I joined her. We sang really loudly and horribly and out of tune, and I was laughing so hard I could barely keep my hands on the steering wheel. We were currently singing 'Someone Like You' by Adele, and Cammie had to take little breaths between every song, she was laughing so hard. We got to the Eiffel tower and I grabbed her hand. We walked under the Eiffel tower and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

**ZPOV**

"What time is it?"

I took out my phone and checked.

"Four thirty." I sighed.

"Are you sure they said three? PM?"

"Extremely."

"Try calling them again!" she pleaded.

I sighed and ran a hand through my tousled hair. "We called each of them six times already, Cam. I don't think they're gonna pick up."

"Let's go back to the hotel room, then. I'm sure the COC agents will have cleared out by now!" She looked up at me, and her bright blue eyes were worried. She had that little crease in her forehead right above her left eyebrow, which she only got when she was really scared or worried. So I just led her back to the car, our singing, happy moods no longer gone. It disappeared around 3:15, replaced with worry and annoyance. We drove to the hotel and took the elevator up to our floor.

We got to the boys' room, and Zach lifted his finger up to his lips. I rolled my eyes and mouthed, 'I know!' He opened the door as quickly and softly as he could, getting in front of me. We checked the place out: in the bathroom, under tables, in cabinets..we checked for agents, bugs and cameras. And, most importantly, our friends. We checked the girls' room, too, and all we found was a note that said:

_We have them._


	6. Dr Pepper

_We got to the boys' room, and Zach lifted his finger up to his lips. I rolled my eyes and mouthed, 'I know!' He opened the door as quickly and softly as he could, getting in front of me. We checked the place out: in the bathroom, under tables, in cabinets..we checked for agents, bugs and cameras. And, most importantly, our friends. We checked the girls' room, too, and all we found was a note that said:_

_We have them._

**CPOV**

Oh my god, oh my god!

"Zach!" I shrieked, panicking.

"I know, I know. We'll find them." Zach said, analyzing the note. But what was there to analyze?

'We have them.' Kind of self-explanatory!

I put my mask on. I would _not_ just break down and cry. What kind of a spy would I be if I did that? But believe me. The teenage girl on the inside wanted to slide down the wall sobbing, and let other people take care of my problems for me.

But the spy inside of me told me to fight. It told me to stand up, march out of this hotel with Zach, and find them. Now.

So that's exactly what we did.

Not.

We stayed in the room until dark, looking for any more clues, a hint, a sign, a suggestion, _anything_ that will lead us to them.

What did we find?

.lutely. Nothing.

I groaned loudly and flopped back on the bed.

"This is hopeless." I moaned into the pillow. Silence. Wow. Way to comfort your girlfriend, Zach.

"Zach?" I sat up. The window was open, but there was no wind, no cars on the road. I didn't even hear crickets. It was still. Too still.

"Zach!" I shouted, jumping up from the bed. I could feel scared tears gather up in my eyes, and I ran outside to look for him.

How the hell did the Circle get him? I turned my back for _one second._

There was no one in the hall. I felt so alone, so small and scared. I realized how dependent I've become of other agents always being there with me. You always had another agent with you when you were on a mission, whether it be beside you or on a coms unit.

"ZACH!" I shrieked, desperate now. I started sprinting to the door at the end of the hallway, leading to the stairs. I ran into something hard and warm. I stumbled back and was about to roundhouse kick their face, but then I realized whose face it was.

"Cam?" His hands were on my arms, keeping me upright. I realized warm tears were slipping down my cheeks, and I must have been a mess. My heart was thumping so hard it was hurting my chest.

"Oh, my god." I whispered, my throat thick. I pushed him back.

"WHERE DID YOU _GO_?" I screamed at him, shoving his hands off me. His eyes were wide with shock.

"I went to go look in the lobby..I told you." He said, trying to keep me calm.

"I was so worried that..that they got you, too, because I _called_ your name like, a hundred times." I wiped the stupid tears off my cheeks, stomping back into the room.

Yea, I know. I was acting like a little girl. But I couldn't help it.

"I felt so alone, and I was _really, really_ scared that they got you too, and-" He grabbed my hand and twirled me around, crushing my in a hug.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I'm really sorry. I promise I will never, _ever_ leave you. Sshh, it's okay." He tried to soothe me.

I noticed I was shaking.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I don't know why I was so scared..paranoia, probably."

Suddenly, Zach stiffened and stopped rubbing my back. He untangled his arms from me and walked over to some decorations they put up on a shelf in our hotel room. It was a bunch of shells, advertising the artificial beach that just opened up a mile away from the hotel.

One of the shells was making a weird ringing noise. Zach took it and brought it back over to me.

"...What should we do?" I asked hesitantly.

"Should we crack it?" He asked. I nodded. He swiftly pounded it against the floor, and it cracked in half, few extra pieces breaking off and scattering onto the tile. Inside was a broken bug, wired to make the ringing noise. And there was also another note.

_Tomorrow. 8 o' clock AM. Beach. Look out for the shells._

"Why? Why would they give us clues.." I said, frustrated.

"My mother...she-well, she likes to plays games. She likes to watch people struggle, and suffer. She likes the thought of her rebel son and his innocent little girlfriend going on a wild adventure, tearing their hair out in frustration, while she sits back and watches them, one step ahead of them on every move." Zach sighed.

"Well. Doesn't that sound like fun?" I said sarcastically.

He smirked and rolled his eyes.

"You know..we _do _have until 8 o' clock..and we're alone..in a hotel room..in Paris.." He winked.

I laughed. "You are shameless!"

He shrugged, unfazed. "It was worth a shot, Gallagher Girl."

"It's only 7 o' clock. Wanna go out for dinner?" He said, after a moment of silence. I nodded.

"Yea. A dinner would..relieve some stress, I think."

He smirked, his green eyes twinkling. "Good. It's a date. Get showered."

I showered and towel-dried my hair, putting in some leave-in conditioner. It smelled like strawberries-and I knew that Zach loved that scent on me. Why do you think he always sniffed my neck?

I put on a bra and underwear and paraded around the room, trying to see where our clothes were. The room was totally messy and torn apart. I sighed.

I quickly locked the door so Zach wouldn't come in and I cleaned. It only took about ten minutes. I just kicked all of the broken stuff into a pile in the corner of a room, and I messily made the bed. I grabbed all the clothes I could find and threw it into the open suitcases waiting on the floor. I shoved stuff into cabinets and flipped stuff back over.

Dorming with three other high school girls taught me to tidy up fast.

I then looked through the clothes. I grabbed an olive long-sleeved shirt from Forever21. It was flowy and pretty long. I grabbed a floral scarf and hung it around my neck, tying it, and put on black skinny jeans from Hollister. I pulled on a black leather jacket and combat boots. My hair dried in its natural waves, and I put some strawberry lotion on my hands.

I put on minimal mascara and eyeliner, and I was all set. On my way out the door, I grabbed a brown long bag and hung it on my shoulders. It dangled down to about half of my thighs.

I walked next door and knocked. He didn't answer, but I could hear him in there.

I opened the door, and saw why he didn't answer the door. He was listening to his iPod.

But what I noticed before this? Zach was standing there. In front of me. With just a towel wrapped around his waist.

I quickly looked away, but not before glancing at his abs appreciatively.

Hey, I'm a teenage girl! Don't blame me-blame my hormones.

He smirked. Before he could say anything, I blurted, "Put on a shirt, Zach."

He chuckled.

"Oh, what about pants? I could just go on our date wrapped in just a towel..I wouldn't mind."

I rolled my eyes. He changed while I stole his iPod and listened to it on the bed. I was listening to a song by Hot Chelle Rae, laying on the bed, feet crossed in the air, hands behind my head, my foot bobbing to the beat, when he painfully yanked the ear buds out. I opened my eyes, and his faces was inches from mine. He smirked.

"Ready to go, Gallagher Girl?"

"Mmmm..." I scrunched up my face, pretending to think about it. "Nah, I was quite comfortable, actually. I think I'd rather stay here and have a date with your iPod." I winked.

He did a little shocked open mouth grin-thing, and it was so adorable I kind of stared. Good thing he didn't notice, though.

"Is that so? Would you change your mind if I did this..?" He slowly leaned down and pressed his soft lips against mine, and I could feel him smirk into my lips when I gasped.

"Mmmm...no." I laughed. He raised his eyebrows, and suddenly I was twirling in the air.

"You're," I giggled. "Making me dizzy." He set me down and took my hand, walking me to the elevator.

"Yep. That was my plan. Ooooh, we're in the elevator, iPod's in the room. Relationship is over." He fake-pouted.

"What, jealous?" I teased.

He snorted. "Oh, yea. I'm definitely jealous of that lifeless hunk of metal."

We went to an adorable little diner, and we ate in a little booth, illuminated by these deliciously scented candles.

We both had steaks, and a Dr. Pepper, our favorite soda. We laughed and joked and talked, and we became closer than we ever were before, trying to push the dilemma to the back of our minds.

He learned that my favorite color was coral, and his was dark green. I hated cheese, but he adores it. I really like to eat bread, but he thinks it's bland and boring. We listed our favorite stores to shop at and our favorite bands. The only thing we didn't go to was family, considering my dad was dead and his mother was an evil terrorist.

"What are your favorite kind of jokes?" He asked, sipping some Dr. Pepper, chomping on a piece of ice.

"Hmmm. Well, these aren't really jokes, but lame pick-up lines just _crack_ me up." I smiled.

He smirked. "Baby, you're as hot as the bottom of my laptop." He whispered huskily.

I raised my eyebrows and did a little scoff. "You're going to have to do better than that."

He thought for more.

"Good thing I brought my library card 'cause I'm checking you out." I laughed.

"We're like cocoa and marshmallows-you're hot and I wanna be on top of you." That one made me throw my head back and cackle. He laughed with me, and the older couple at the booth next to us swiveled in their seats and glared at us.

We looked down, our lips twitching and tried to cover our laughs by drinking Dr. Pepper. But I just thought of the joke all over again and spit Dr. Pepper all of Zach's grey shirt.

He looked down in shock, and looked up. My face was red from laughing, and I was staring at the spray of Dr. Pepper dripping down his shirt.

"Oh, heyell nah you did not just mess with this shirt!" Zach imitated Macey. I stared up at him in horror.

"Never. _Ever_ do that again!" Seriously that was creepy. He smirked.

The rest of the date went by pretty smoothly. We walked to the hotel and we held hands, and it was...peaceful. It was really peaceful.

Well, the most peaceful we could be with the fact that we were going to go save our best friends' lives in a few short hours.

**I only got two reviews on the last chapter.]': Review on this one, pretty please? I made it extra long..:D**


	7. Tea and Submarines

**code. chameleon: haha, thank you!  
>Krazykid500: [': Thank you so much! Your review was oh-so sweet. <strong>

**Goode Foreva: AHAHA yea! My best friend Derek always has these ABSOLUTELY lame pick-up lines that make me laugh my head off. Thanks for reviewing!**

**RoyalCrown29: Ahha, thank you for reviewing. ^_^ **

**Jennyandres1: Thank you so much! :'D**

**Anon: Oooh, thanks so much for the idea! **

**kgorange: I love you. Ahahaha thank you so much.[:**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! **

**All rights belong to Ally Carter, unfortunately. **

**But onto the story!**

_The rest of the date went by pretty smoothly. We walked to the hotel and we held hands, and it was...peaceful. It was really peaceful._

_Well, the most peaceful we could be with the fact that we were going to go save our best friends' lives in a few short hours._

**CPOV**

We got back to the hotel and I collapsed into my bed, and Zach went into his room. I just laid on my back and stared at the dark ceiling. I jumped at every noise, extremely paranoid. Like that feeling you have after you watch a scary movie with your friends? At first you're like, 'This isn't so bad. I'm actually not that scared.' But once your friends leave, every little noise become a serial killer to you.

Twenty minutes, then an hour rolled by. My heart was pounding and my breathing was heavy. I heard some muffled talking out in the hall and I jumped up onto my feet, glaring at the door, in fighting position. Turns out they were just some cleaning ladies collecting the dinner trays. I hurriedly pulled one of Zach's sweaters he gave to me over my pajama shorts and tank top and I walked over to his room.

He had given me one of his room keys, so I opened his door and walked in. I could hear his even breathing, and I tip-toed to the bed. His face was even and calm and his eyes were shut, his hair messy.

I tried to lift up the blanket gently so that he wouldn't wake up, but his eyes snapped open, the dark green shocking me. He smirked.

"Couldn't get enough, Gallagher Girl?" I rolled my eyes.

"I was just a little..paranoid in my room." I whispered. His face softened and he opened his arms up, inviting me into the warm protection of his bed. I willingly crawled in and pressed my nose against his chest, inhaling his soft scent. He wrapped the blanket around us and sighed, pressing his nose into my hair.

We fell asleep like this, his arms circled around me, providing warm protection. Me curled up into a ball and pressed against his chest.

And for the first time since I found out the Circle was after me, I felt completely, utterly safe.

**ZPOV **

I woke up, expecting to see Cammie cradled against my chest like last night. But she wasn't in bed with me. The blankets next to me were still warm, so she must have left recently. I shrugged and sat up, rubbing my eyes, until I heard a loud crash in the bathroom. My body stiffened and I quickly but quietly went over to the bathroom. Shit. What if they had gotten Cammie? How could I sleep through that?  
>I was about to kick the door open and attack whoever the hell was in my room with my fist and a napotine patch, but I recognized Cammie's voice through her soft whimper. I opened the door gently and saw she was curled up into a ball leaning against the bathtub, cradling her head. Her face was twisted in pain, and fresh tears made marks down her cheeks.<p>

"Cam?"

She shook her head. "I didn't want to wake you up. I figure since," Her voice cracked, and she had to take deep breaths. "I figured since these were going to be happening regularly, that they're no big deal anymore." As she was talking, I made my way over to her.

I cringed and sat down next to her, pulling her into my lap. I seem to be doing that a lot now.

"These are never going to be 'no big deal', Cammie. When you have to curl up on the bathroom floor and you feel like your brains are about to explode out of your ears, you should wake me up. I don't want to have to sleep through this." I said as she rubbed her temples.

"Damn this chip." She muttered, pulling at her hair.

"That's not going to help." I removed her hands from her head, knowing she did this when she was extremely frustrated about something. She opted for playing with my fingers instead, which I had to admit hurt a bit, but it wasn't unbearable. Whatever made her more comfortable. She kept her eyes squeezed shut the entire time, whimpering. I rocked her in my lap and hummed melodies under my breath.

The only thing we could do was wait it out. We sat on the bathroom floor for twenty more minutes. Suddenly, Cammie slumped against me and sighed a breath of relief.

"Is it over?" I whispered. She nodded.

"Why do they bother giving me those things if they're not even going to attack? I mean, it's not like I want them to attack, but wasn't the whole point of installing the chip into me to weaken me while we're fighting?" She muttered, her head still tucked against my chest.

Then, she gasped and snapped her head up, causing it to collide with my chin.

"_OW._" We exclaimed. I clutched my chin while she clutched her head, and we stared at each other with wide eyes. And I couldn't help it. I laughed. I laughed so hard Cammie had to crawl off my lap, because I was bending over. I could hear her laughing with me, and it was like her headache was never even there.

"What time is it? We have to be at the beach by 8 o' clock, remember?" She said.

"Right." We got up and she went to go take a shower. While I was showering, I stared at the droplets of water running down the glass, my fists clenched.

It hurt me to see Cammie in so much pain. And for that to happen _regularly? _That was not good. What if she gets brain damage, or something? We need to get this chip out of her. And we need to get it out of her fast.

**CPOV**

I went to shower, and I went through my suitcase looking for clothes. I decided on a loose, brown tank-top, a gold dream-catcher necklace with pale pink feathers, light wash distressed shorts and sandals. 7:47.

"Zach, hurry up!" I screamed, pounding on his door. He pulled it open, his hair still wet. He was in a plain T-shirt and jeans.

"Let's go." We ran down to the lobby and hailed a taxi. Since the beach was only a mile away, it didn't take us long to get there.

"So we have to 'look out for the shells'." I noted, remembering the note. Zach nodded, scanning the sand for any sign of danger. Suddenly, a gleam in the sand caught my eye. I walked up to it, and picked up..a shell. It was artificial, and super shiny, so that the sunlight would catch it. There was a letter C written on it in Sharpie. I few feet in front of it was another shell. It had an I on it. We followed that trail of shells, and together they spelled out Circle of Cavan. The last one was on the step of a beach side restaurant. We got a table for two, and sat down.

"...Do you think we should order, or..?" I asked, scanning the room for any familiar Circle agents. Suddenly, a waiter with a tray arrived.

"Your tea, Miss Morgan." He set the cup of tea on the table and walked away.

"I didn't ord-?" I looked back at Zach with confusion, and then at the cup.

"Don't drink it," Zach warned.

"I know." I stated, picking up the cup and pouring it into the little flower pot that was sitting behind our table. I looked back into the cup, and there was a little brown paper stuck to the bottom. It read, 'Good, you've gotten this far. That wasn't so bad, was it? Submarine. By the pier. Tickets placed under table cloth. Leaves in five minutes.' I passed the cup to Zach so he could read, and I reached under the table cloth and found two submarine tickets, just as it said. We ran to the pier, and the last person in line was boarding the submarine.

"Tickets, please?" We handed the man our tickets and went in. We could hear his muffled voice shouting, "GET ONBOARD THE NEXT SUBMARINE RIDE AT 3:30! SEE CORAL, FISH, SHARKS, JELLYFISH, AND MUCH MORE!" Each person had their own little chair and binoculars to look out of to see the fish. Zach and I sat down in a corner and he looked at me, his eyebrows crinkled.

"I don't have a very good feeling about this, Gallagher Girl. We're in this tiny confined area. With like, 20 other people. Any of them could be a Circle member. And we're _underwater_."

I bit my lip and nodded. "Well, there's nothing else we could do to be able to get all of our friends back." The submarine started up and we went underwater, and women cooed and children shrieked at the sight of all of the 'pretty fish' and 'colorful coral.' I admit, I looked out the binoculars once or twice, and it was amazing out there. After a while, I just started straight-out staring out the binoculars, not even paying attention to my surroundings in the submarine. Someone could have been standing behind me with a gun and pointing it at the back of my head, and I wouldn't have noticed-how fascinated I was by the ocean.

The water was a light, aqua blue and the fish's bright colors stood out so brightly against it. The coral and anemone swayed gently with the current and it seemed so..majestic.

Zach finally gave in and relaxed his tense position on the chair. He swiveled around and looked out his own pair of binoculars, and I heard him gasp in surprise at the beauty of it.

Ten minutes flew by. I have to admit-I forgot that the Circle sent us here. Halfway through, Zach found my hand and held it, squeezing it every time a large fish swam by. It felt like we were normal teenagers on a normal date. But it all had to end when alarms started blaring, and red lights flashed through the small submarine.

Zach and I were immediately on our feet, alert. Children started crying and men stood up to find out what was going on. Zach and I went up and knocked on the captain's door, where he was driving the submarine. He quickly opened it, his eyes full of shock and fear.

"Sir? What's happening?" Zach demanded, his hand still grasping mine.

"The..submarine, son. I'm afraid the motors have somehow stopped working. We're all going to drown."


	8. Emmy

_"The..submarine, son. I'm afraid the motors have somehow stopped working. We're all going to drown." _

**Zach's POV**

Cammie gasped and I tightened my grip on her hand. I looked at her the same time she looked at me, our eyes connecting.

"I'm so sorry.." The man said, complete sorrow in his eyes.

"We're going to make it out. We'll live." Cammie reassured the man, looking at him with her earnest eyes. He just shook his head, smiling.

"Children have so much hope these days."

We said a quick 'thank you' and walked away, whispering to each other quietly.

"What do we do?" Cammie whisper-shrieked.

"We'll just have to get the motors to start working again. That or get everybody out of here." I shrugged, acting as if it was no big deal. But it was. It was a very big deal. We had what? Thirty minutes to save about forty peoples' lives? Including ourselves.

"Getting everybody out will be a lot easier."

I nod in agreement.

"Now the problem is, how?" I ask, scanning the room filled with panicking civilians for something useful to use. I saw her blue eyes do the same, but then her eyes landed on a girl – she was about eight – who was bawling her eyes out. She was alone. Cammie's eyebrows furrowed and she let go of my hand and walked over.

"Hi, sweetie. What's your name?" Cammie bent down to look the little red-headed girl in the eyes.

"Emmy." The girl said, removing her small hands from her red eyes and looking at Cammie in fear.

"Hi, Emmy. I'm Cammie. Where are your mom and dad?"

"We didn't have a lot of money, but I _really _wanted to go see the fish. So they let me go alone. They're waiting for me on the shore right now. But now I'm scared and I don't know what's happening." The girl had missing teeth, so she had this adorable lisp that made Cammie's eyes melt.

"You'll be okay, Emmy. I promise. We'll get you out of here." Cammie took Emmy's hand and pulled her over to me.

"Emmy, this is my boyfriend Zach. Zach, this is Emmy." She waved to me, sniffling. I couldn't help but smile and wave back. Suddenly, a quick flash caught my eye. Someone was running through the crowds of panicking people-someone who was calm. Too calm to be a civilian-someone like us. Before I could do anything, Cammie shoved Emmy into my arms and flashed a quick, "Be right back." She disappeared into the long, dark hallway that led to the submarine bathrooms.

"Wait, Cammie!" I shouted. I looked down at the girl who was clutching my hand and chewing on her fingers. I sighed and picked her up, walking swiftly to where Cammie had run off too. She was fighting about six agents.

"Stay here, okay Emmy?" I put her down in a dark corner well hidden by everyone and she nodded. I ran into the fight and yelled, "Duck!" Cammie quickly ducked, just in time for my foot to crash into a Circle agent's face. She quickly flipped her had back over, her hair fluttering back to her back. She roundhouse kicked and punched, and two more men fell.

Half down – three to go. Suddenly, one grabbed me by the hair and slammed my head into the submarine wall. Repeatedly. Then he punched my in the gut and roundhouse kicked my face. I gritted my teeth, glaring. I grabbed their hair and slammed them into a wall. They groaned and I flipped their feet from under them, causing them to knock their head against the floor and go unconscious. My vision was swimming and I leaned against a wall, taking deep breaths. Suddenly, I felt something cold graze against my skin.

I opened my eyes just in time to see Cammie shout, "No!" and sprint to where we were. They quickly fired the gun at Cammie, which caused me to almost die in horror. If my head wasn't bleeding, I would have thrown myself in front of her. But, unfortunately, I could barely stand, and I could feel the warm blood trickling down my neck.

But Cammie quickly cartwheeled to the side, her messy hair swinging to her shoulder. She was breathing heavily, and her cheeks were rosy. Was it bad that in this serious situation, the only thing I could think was, 'She looks pretty damn hot right now'? The man tried to fire at her again, but he was out of bullets.

Idiot.

But he did the next best thing. He chucked the gun at Cammie and it hit her in the head.

"_Shit!" _Cammie shouted. She bent down, clutching her head. My vision stopped blurring up and I wasn't as dizzy anymore. I quickly grabbed the man's arm and twisted it painfully, causing him to cry out. I was about to stick a napotine patch on him when he managed to turn around in my grip and punch a pressure point in the arm that was holding him, causing my grip to weaken for a second. He ran from my grip and picked Cammie up in his arms. She was unconscious, and her hand fell limply down from his grasp.

I saw blood drip off one of her fingers, and that's when I cracked.

I stood up straight, ignoring the rushing pain I felt in my head. I quickly scooped up the gun that was on the ground and walked quietly up behind the men, who was struggling to keep on his feet, since he was still weak from the fight and trying to carry an 100 pound girl. I hit it against his head as hard as I could, and quickly grabbed Cammie away from him before he fell on top of her.

I collapsed to the ground with Cammie in my lap, leaning against a wall and breathing deeply. She was awake now, and she was pulling at her hair again.

"Stop." I order, taking her hands in mine. I really needed to stop her from that nervous habit-because it seemed whenever she did it she had a head injury of some sort.

"Sorry." She mumbled. She turned her head towards me and looked me deep in the eyes. "Are you okay, Zach?"

I smirked. "Why? You worried?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I am."

My expression softened and I pushed some sweaty strands of hair off her face. "I'm okay. You?" She smiled back and wiped dried up blood off the side of my face. Attractive.

"I'm fine." She whispered.

"Cammie?" A little voice whispered.

"Shit. I forgot about her." Cammie mumbled.

"Come here, Emmy." I opened my arms, and she ran into my embrace, sitting down in my lap with Cammie.  
>"Are you guys okay?" She shrieked, tears welling up in her eyes.<p>

Children were just so innocent like that. She was already worried about us and she's known us for what?Ten minutes?

"Shoot! Cammie – we only have about twenty minutes to get everyone off this submarine."

She stiffened and shot up, only to lean back against the wall. I stood up and grabbed Emmy and Cammie's hands, and pulled them out into the main submarine room. People were praying now, some were just staring at the wall blankly, and most of them were crying and saying goodbye.

"Everybody listen up!" Cammie demanded. They looked over, hope shining in their eyes. "Nobody is going to die today. We are going to get out of here."

Their faces showed curiosity. "How?" A man asked, a little boy clutching his leg.

My eyes scanned the room one more time, but suddenly I remembered. The COC had done a scientific study a couple years back-it was how people could hold their breath longer if they were unconscious, and somebody was their to tilt their neck just the right way and hold their nose right. That's probably what the man who was about to take Cammie away was planning to do. I quickly whispered this to Cammie, and she nodded.

She explained to everyone in the room, and they looked at her in disbelief.  
>"That's ridiculous! How is that even possible?" A pregnant woman exclaimed.<p>

"Just...please. Trust us." Cammie pleaded. Nobody said anything.

"Listen, people." I snapped. "You're going to die anyway, so this is better than nothing, right? There are kids in here – innocent children. Do you really want to just let them die without even trying to give them a chance to live their lives? You have to trust us."

Suddenly, Emmy released her grasp from my hand.  
>"Do it to me. I trust you." She said.<p>

"No! She's just a little girl – you'll kill her!" A woman shrieked, coming forward to pull Emmy into the crowd.

"Stop!" Emmy shouted, looking less like the scared little girl I've been seeing and more demanding. "I trust them, and if you don't want to live then that's your problem." She said snarkily. I smirked.

"Alright. We'll bring you up to your parents, Emmy." Cammie quickly placed a napotine patch on Emmy's forehead, and caught Emmy when she fell.

"I'll be back. And Emmy will live." Cammie said, determined.

"Wait, Cammie. I'll bring her up." I caught her arm.

"No. I can do this, Zach." She quickly tilted Emmy's head back at a certain angle and plugged her nose, quickly opened the submarine door and closed it before much water could get in. **(I know this is probably really impossible but let's just pretend it is, okay? xD) **A couple minutes passed, and Cammie came back, soaking wet and shivering. People stared in awe.

"Did you really get her back up?" A little girl asked.

"I did." Cammie nodded.

"Wait – how do _you_ hold your breath for that long then?" A teenage boy around our age asked.

"When I was little, my dad wanted me to become an Olympic swimmer, so I can hold my breath for almost five minutes." She explained.

Lie. She didn't have a dad, and she could hold it for way longer than five minutes. And so, one by one, we stuck napotine patches on people and swam them back up to shore, laying them down on the sand and diving back down again. It was the most tiring thing in the world. By the time we got to the last two people – who were the captain and a grown man who insisted that all of the women and kids go before him, we were dead tired.

"You kids are extraordinary. Just ...just astounding, really. So brave.." The captain praised us. We smiled politely before we slipped a napotine patch on him.

We finally got everybody up, and we finally to go rest, laying in the sand, coughing our lungs up. Cammie was on her hands and knees, coughing up salt-water and vomiting. I was doing the same, but rolled over to my side. We had sand all over our bodies, but we didn't care.

Slowly, one by one, everybody who we had laid down onto the beach started to wake up. Everybody who wasn't on the submarine stared at us in shock, fear, and wonder.

Some woman from a beach-side shop brought us all towels and water. I wrapped Cammie up in mine, and we shakily drank from our water bottles, our fingers shriveled and white.

Suddenly, everybody from the submarine got up to embrace us.

"You kids..." A woman cried. "I love you. Thank you so much." We accepted their thank you's and smiled at them, always keeping in cover, saying we were training to be professional swimmers.

Lastly, Emmy bound up to us and crawled in our laps. She threw her arms around Cammie's neck and kissed her cheek, and then did the same to me.

"I love you Cammie – and Zach." She flashed us her dimples and threw herself back into her mother's arms.

"Really." The dad said sincerely. "Thank you so, so much. We love Emmy more than anything – if she didn't come back up, we would have never forgave ourselves." He shook each of our hands, and finally we got to sit in peace. Cammie leaned against me, and I put an arm around her shoulder. Our eyes were half-closed, and we still had bruises and cuts from the fight with the Circle agents.

We had rescued them, too. We hid them in a secluded corner of the beach and called some guys from the CIA to take care of it. As much as we hated them, we never would have wanted them to drown to death.

We shakily got up and got a taxi, and when we got back to our room we took turns showering. I couldn't even stand in the shower, I was so weak. We finally got changed and we lugged out the first aid kit, and sat in front of the mirror. We wrapped each others' heads up, and put anti-bacterial alcohol on our cuts. Our bruises we would have to wait to fade.

We collapsed into bed, falling into a deep, exhausted slumber.

**kgorange: [: Aahha thank you!**

**Saphy18: Oh my goodness. Thank you so much! And I like writing cliff-hangers – they kind of make me wonder what's going to happen next, also, since I don't pre-plan out my stories, and it inspires me to update faster. Thanks for reviewing! **

**Raksha Souza: I tried to make it longer.[: I'm not even sure if it is longer, though. Ahha. But thanks for reviewing! **

**Anon: Thanks for reviewing![: **

**Code. Chameleon: I AGREE! D: If they drowned I would cry. **

**RoyalCrown29: Oh, the humanity! The sorrowfulness of it all! ^_^ I like being dramatic. It's fun. Ahha. Thank you so, so much.[: Your review was super sweet. **

**anonymous: Ahaha, I'm glad! Thank you so much for reviewing! **

**FlamingRain: Unfortunately, no underwater base. :/ That would be cool though, ahhah. XD Thanks for reviewing![: **


	9. Bloody, Bruised, and Unconscious

_We collapsed into bed, falling into a deep, exhausted slumber. _

**Cammie's POV**

I woke up, leaving my eyes closed. Zach's chest was blocking the sunlight from my eyes, but I could tell it was morning from my internal clock. Zach was still sleeping, breathing deeply in and out. I let out a big sigh and rolled over – my arm had been bent in an odd position underneath me.

Zach's heartbeat changed and he woke up. He groaned and went deeper under the covers, pulling me closer. Seems like neither of us felt like facing reality today.

I would be perfectly happy staying in bed all day today. But unfortunately, Zach wouldn't have that.

"Cammie. Wake up." He sat up groggily, placing a hand on my cheek. I didn't budge.

"Cam." He shook my shoulder gently. I swatted his hand away.

"Let's just sleep all day..." I drawled out. Zach chuckled.

"You know I wish we can, Gallagher Girl. But we have a mission to finish. We need to find everybody and get them back." He said.

I harrumphed and sat up, glaring at him. He rolled his eyes and smirked, and pointed me to the bathroom. I stomped off and sat down, my head spinning a bit. I sat there and stared off into space, thinking about everything and nothing.

"Cam?" Zach knocked on the door. "Did you fall asleep again?"

I snorted. "No. Just...thinking."

I heard Zach slide down on the other side of the door, his back separated from mine by inches of wood.

"About what?"

"Everything and nothing."

"That makes sense."

"It's true."

We were silent for a few minutes, and I focused on his breathing.

"We'll get them back, you know?" He said quietly. I bit my lip and nodded, but then realized he couldn't see me.

"Yea. I know." I sighed. "I just hope it'll be before any of them get hurt."

"Me too."

"I love you, you know." I smiled.

He laughed. "I know."

I rolled my eyes and stood up, going to shower.

**Zach's POV**

"Everything and nothing." She said. I so badly wanted to reach through the door and hold her.

"That makes sense." I retorted.

"It's true."

We shut up for a few minutes, listening to each others' heartbeats and breathing.

"We'll get them back, you know?" I leaned my head against the door, closing my eyes.

"Yea. I know." Cammie sighed. "I just hope it'll be before any of them get hurt."

Typical Cammie. Always thinking of others before herself. "Me too."

"I love you, you know." I heard her voice through the door. I laughed happily.

"I know." I teased.

She went to shower, and I plopped down on the couch, waiting for my turn. The shower quickly turned off, and I hid next to the bathroom door frame. The door swung open, and I quickly stepped in front of her, making her gasp.

"I love you, you know." I mocked her, kissing her wet neck.

"I know." She taunted. "Now get off me – I don't even have clothes on."

I pulled back and winked at her.

She scoffed and pushed me into the bathroom. I showered and changed, and got out to see Cammie wearing a tank top, skinny jeans, and combat boots. She had let her hair dry naturally, so they tumbled down her back in waves.

"So, obviously yesterday was a trap. Now we have absolutely no lead on where to find them." Cammie said to me, looking up from her spot on the floor.

I sat down with her. "We seem to do this a lot. Brainstorm on the floor."

"We do, don't we?" She laughed.

"Actually, I need to be in a room with only natural light, it has to smell like lemons, there has to be calming music playing, I have to be wearing my thinking shoes, and...there has to be smart water." I said in a high nasally voice.

Cammie burst in hysterical laughter. "Never. Do that voice again." She gasped out. "And don't you mean thinking cap?"

"Nope. Thinking shoes. I don't wear hats." I said solemnly. She snorted and rolled her eyes, lips still upturned.

Suddenly, Cammie's phone rang. She jumped and took it out of her pocket, checking the collar I.D. She gasped and looked at me, eyes wide.

"...It's Bex."

"It might be a trap."

"Should I answer?"

I shrugged. "It might be a lead..."

So she clicked "Answer" and brought the phone hesitantly to her ear.

"Bex...?" She muttered into the phone. I put my ear on the other side of the phone, listening.

"You wish, don't you, dearie?" A voice sneered back.

Cammie cringed, sighing. "I knew it was too good to be true." She muttered.

"As a matter of fact, I do wish. Now where the hell are my friends?" Cammie demanded.

"Ah-ah, Cameron. Let's be patient, shall we? Good things come to those who wait." The man chastised her. Who the hell is he? I would have expected it to be my mother.

"Well, I'm waiting! Now just hurry up and get to the damn point." Cammie fingered her jeans, annoyed.

I patted her back, silently telling her to calm down.

"Nothing to tell. Just wanted to see how you were doing." The man mocked. Then he hung up. Cammie drew her phone away from her face and stared at it in a rage.

"Seriously?" She shrieked. She tossed it across the room and it shattered.

"Seriously." We whipped around to the same voice that was on the phone. A tall, dark man was standing in the doorway, and he smiled darkly at us.

He then dropped Bex, Grant, Liz, Jonas, Macey and Tristan down to the floor in front of him. All were bloody, bruised, and unconscious.

"Oh my god." Cammie sobbed, staring at them in horror.

"Don't worry, they're not dead." The man rolled his eyes. "Just...close to."

Cammie growled and sprung up. Suddenly, thirty-seven more Circle agents came up behind the man, including my mother. They stepped in front of our friends. I glared, fists shaking in anger.

"Come with us, and you can have them back." My mother said. Cammie looked down at everybody, and then back up to my mother. She looked at me, and I quickly lunged forward and grabbed her hand.

"Don't. Cam, look at me. You will not. Do this." I growled, cupping her face and forcing her to look me in the eyes.

It looked like she was about to say something, until she fell to the floor, shrieking. Her hand untangled from mine and I crumpled down with her, on my knees.

_Shit._

Now? Really?

I looked up to see my mother holding a little device with a red button it, smirking.

**I'm sorry this chapter was sorta-ish a filler!]: I'm having writer's block. **

**Saphy18: Oh my goodness, you're so sweet. Thank you so much.[: **

**hotchocklateaddict: Ahaha, I tried to make Emmy super sweet and innocent, because I feel like the world is lacking of sweet and innocent people today. XD We need more. The world would be a much better place! Lol. Thanks so much for reviewing.[: **

**minipcsmith123: I can imagine that too! :D But I think I'm going to give them a kid in the epilogue, because I don't really like stories based off of pregnancy. :/ Thanks for reviewing! **

**kgorange: Hmm, I'm not really sure! I don't see how Emmy will fit into the story, but I'll think about bringing her back![: And thank you, ahahah! I was kind of stuck (ahha..get it? 'cause that's the story name...ohk I'll stop...) on a way to get them out, and it was pretty ridiculous, because the only way I could think of was a giant slide connecting to the beach that they had to crawl up. I'm pretty sure I dreamed that...yea. I dunno. XD Thank you for reviewing! **

**Anon: Thanks so much![: **

**jenand1: Ahahah, thank you!**

**Code. Chameleon: LOVE YOU TOO, AHHAH. ...If that's what yer means. I'm not really sure. :/ If that's not what you meant, then that is embarrassing. But whatever. XD **

**FlamingRain: I know! :D Happy days. **

**RoyalCrown29: Miss-Modest-One yourself. :P I'VE READ YOUR STORIES. THEY'RE AMAZING. SO SHUSH. But seriously. They're really, really good. Uhm, I don't really think something like this can happen in real life, BUT YA NEVER KNOW. XD And I'm not really sure about Emmy![: A couple other people have asked this, too, and I really don't know. Originally, I didn't think Emmy would be coming back, but now I don't know. So possibly![: Thanks so much for reviewing! **

**lolls4: Thank you![: **

**B: They did save a lot of people, didn't they?[: I'm so proud of them, ahha. Thank you for reviewing! :D **

**AODiva1979: Thank you so much! :D**

**artemis7448: Wow, Emmy is so popular! XD A lot of people asked to put her back in the story, so she'll probably appear again sometime.[: Thank you for reviewing! **

**topXsecret: Ughmygod I love you. XD I seriously was dancing around my room laughing (no joke) when you were stalking my fanfictions. You're amazingly adorable.[: And it's not creepy at all. :'D Thank you so much for reviewing! **


	10. An Everlasting War

_It looked like she was about to say something, until she fell to the floor, shrieking. Her hand untangled from mine and I crumpled down with her, on my knees._

_Shit._

_Now? Really?_

_I looked up to see my mother holding a little device with a red button it, smirking._

**Zach's POV**

I picked Cammie up into my arms and stood. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shirt.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry," Cammie whispered.

"It's not your fault," I glared at my mother. "Stop pressing that damn button! That's what's making her head hurt, isn't it?"

"Oh, Zach. I'm glad you caught on," my mother taunted.

I growled.

"Give me my friends back," I glanced at them. They were starting to come conscious, twitching every so often. Maybe if I stall for long enough, they'll come to and help me.

"Where would the fun be in that, Zachy dear?" My mother's sickly sweet voice rang through the room, her laughter echoing around in my head. I set my jaw, grinding my teeth in frustration.

"This isn't supposed to be _fun._ Nothing about the spy world is fun. This is serious," I felt like the adult here, not my mother.

"Oh, what's life without a little fun?" She smirked. I blinked and looked down. I almost jumped, and my tight on Cammie tightened. Tristan and Grant's bright eyes were open, alert and staring at me. I nodded at them, almost imperceptibly. Bex woke up, then. She looked confused and scared for a moment, but quickly took in the situation.

My mother pressed the button again, laughing. Cammie tightened her grip on my neck, crying out in pain. I saw Bex, Grant, and Tristan's bodies tense up and they slowly started to sit up. I shook my head. I looked at Macey, Liz and Jonas.

_Wait for them to wake up._

I sent through my eyes. Bex nodded and started shaking Macey.

My mother and her Circle agents were discussing something – and they had stepped away from my friends, who were sprawled out on the floor.

Idiots.

I almost smirked, but I made sure to keep my face completely blank. I looked down at Cammie.

We seriously needed to get that chip out of her, fast.

I set her down on the floor behind me. Macey and Liz and Jonas were awake now. Right as they were about to spring up, my mother whirled around and looked at me.

"Now. As my workers and I were just discussing, there are three options. Option one: Give us Cammie, no fighting. Option two is you _and _Cammie come with us. Option three is we take your friends back, and that chase begins all over again."

"How about option number _four?_" I finally smirked, and shouted, "_Go!_"

They sprung up from the floor, evil grins on their faces. I had to laugh – only we would be grinning while being attacked by thiry-seven full grown men and women.

But we immediately became serious, knowing it was our job to protect Cammie. The air was full of flying hair, roundhouse kicks, grunting, blood, sweat, tears, agents being flipped over our shoulder, panting, and screams. I punched a guy in the jaw, then grabbed his shoulder, using him as a platform to push myself off of my feet. I flipped over his shoulder and kicked down on the agent behind him, sending them both to the floor.

I saw Bex slide in-between an agent's legs, grabbing their leg so they would fall down with her. She took that time to swing that agent around on the floor, while the agent was still on their back, people tripping over their body.

Grant and Macey were standing in front of Cammie, who was still in pain. This was the longest one that had ever lasted – probably because my damn mother kept pressing the button. I looked around for her, but her flaming red hair was lost in the crowd of agents and my friends. I heard Lizzie cry out in pain, and I jumped up, looking for her.

She was on the ground, at Circle agent's feet. I shouted and sprinted over, knocking the guy down onto his ass.

"Touch her again, and _you will be sorry_." I growled in his ear. I grabbed a gun that slid by on the floor and knocked it against his head, knocking him out. I helped Liz up and grabbed her hand, steering her behind Grant and Macey.

I plopped her down beside Cammie. "Stay here and...comfort her," I commanded. She nodded.

"Thanks, Zach."

I went back into the fight. It was lasting forever – they might be bigger, but we're faster and never scared.

Suddenly, someone shrieked.

"_Stop!_" We all froze – don't ask my why, but we did. There was something behind the voice that was commanding, powerful, gorgeous.

"Cammie, what are you doing?" Tristan muttered.

"We need to stop fighting," Cam said through clenched teeth. "Because from the looks of it, we're just going to keep on fighting and fighting until we wear ourselves out. Nobody is going to win."

Her face was sweating, her hands trembling, but her eyes held pure determination.

And that was when I knew, this was the end of the battle.

This was the day the everlasting war was going to come to a finish.

"We know that's not true. We will win, we will _fight._" Bex growled.

"Bex," Cammie smiled gently. "Don't you get it? This isn't your fight. This is my fight. And this fight? If one of us doesn't give in, it's never going to end. Both sides are too equal in power."

"Are you saying you give in, Cam?" Jonas asked quietly.

Cammie stared at him. We all stared at her.

"No," she said firmly. I could tell her head was still hurting, because she was getting paler by the second. "I'm not giving in. I'm just stopping the fighting."

"Oh, naïve little Cammie." my mother cackled. "We're _spies_, dearie, fighting is what we're trained for. It's what we _do_."

"Yes, we fight. We train. But there are other ways to solve problems than fighting. Because admit it, Mrs. Goode. If I kept up a fight, you would never have gotten the information you wanted from me alive." Cammie retorted.

My mother raised her eyebrows. "Is that a challenge? I mean, you're the one with a throbbing head right now, sprawled out on the floor."

I finally walked over and pulled Cam to her feet, letting her support herself on me. Her shaking hand clutched mine, and I squeezed it gently.

"Why can't we make a compromise? I'll give you some information if you just..._tell_ me what you want to do with it," Cammie pleaded.

"The world isn't full of magic and rainbows and roses, Morgan," My mom was frustrated now. No more useless teasing. "We are spies. It's either all or nothing."

"Then I guess you're getting nothing, then."

My mother paused, considering her options.

"And don't you dare lie, because I know when a person is lying." Cammie said. Suddenly, the door opened.

And who to think but Joe Solomon and Cammie's mom run in the room. Cammie laughed in delight.

"Mom! Mr. Solomon!" She grinned.

They stared at her. "...Cammie...there are Circle agents scattered around you on the floor, some are still conscious, and you're talking to the woman who wants to capture you. Why the hell are you guys just standing here _talking_?" Mr. Solomon exclaimed.

"She's 'stopping the violence'." Tristan shrugged, making air quotes with his fingers. Cammie nodded vigorously, which made her groan, and hold her head.

"Can you at least turn off the damn chip in her head?" I snapped, steadying a light-headed Cammie. My mother smirked.

"I control when they come on, not when they come off."

We all turned and glowered at her. She shrugged. "It'll probably stop in a couple of minutes, anyway."

Cammie sat down again, coughing.

"My vision's getting blurry..." she mumbled. I sat down next to her and she leaned her head on my shoulder, shutting her eyes. We all stared at her in sympathy. It was a good thing her eyes were shut, because she hates pity.

Suddenly, I was a flash of blonde hair.

Liz?

Liz was walking quietly as a fairy behind Mrs. Goode. It was one of her hidden talents – sneaking up on people. She was so light and skinny and little that you barely noticed her, except for her bright, long blonde hair. She quickly and quietly pulled the red button out of my mother's back pocket, and walked casually away. For some reason, the eight Circle members still conscious didn't notice her either, even though she was weaving in and out of them.

"Did you even plan on figuring out how to get the thing out of her head?" I asked.

She smirked.

"The only way to get rid of the chip is to destroy the button, which would destroy the chip."

Liz stared at the button, wide-eyed.

"_Do it, Liz!_" We all cried out at once. She flung it onto the floor and smashed into it with her heel. Cammie's eyes flew open in shock and she shrieked. The chip must be breaking. Liz stepped on it again, and for the half-second her foot was off the button, I saw that it was an irregular shape now, small chunks of metal and wire flying out of it, sparks flying around her foot.

"_NO_!" my mother cried, trying to get it back. But Mr. Solomon and Ms. Morgan held her back. Liz went into the bathroom and filled up the sink, and then dropped it in. Then she whirled around, and all of our eyes were on Cammie.

She was clutching her head, panting heavily.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes.

"Zach?" Her hand waved randomly in the air, and I grabbed it, confused. She was looking straight ahead.

"Cammie? Look at me."

"I...what? Zach, I...I can't see."

My heartbeat accelerated, and I quickly brought my hand up and tilted her face so I could study her eyes. Her eyes were open, and they were blank and staring, their gorgeous blue turning into a murky grey color.

Cammie was blind.

**AHAHA, I bet you guys didn't see that one coming, did you? :] Thank you guys so much for all of your reviews! I loved them...they were so sweet.[:**

**I really hope you liked this chapter – I'll update soon.**


	11. Empty Promises

_"I...what? Zach, I...I can't see."_

_My heartbeat accelerated, and I quickly brought my hand up and tilted her face so I could study her eyes. Her eyes were open, and they were blank and staring, their gorgeous blue turning into a murky grey color._

_Cammie was blind._

**Zach's POV**

I stared at her with wide eyes, shock taking over my features.

"_Zach!_" Cammie shrieked, clutching onto my shirt and searching desperately with her sightless eyes. "What's going on? What's going on...?" she sobbed.

"Cam..." I reached for her and pulled her into my chest, stroking her hair. I couldn't believe it myself. The shock and sorrow gave way for the pure fury I felt afterwards. I looked down at the girl who I loved so much – who was clutching my shirt and sobbing into my neck.

Grant, Bex and everyone else stood there staring at us, their faces as outraged and shocked as mine. Mr. Solomon was shaking his head slowly, fists clenched, trembling from fury. Mrs. Morgan just looked horrified, hands clamped over her mouth, tears of her own producing.

"What the _hell_ did you do to her?" Tristan was the first to speak up, whirling around and advancing slowly on my mother. They seemed just as confused as we were.

"What? Why didn't that kill her? If the chip ever broke, it was supposed to have killed her!" my mother shouted.

"Well, you didn't kill her! You fucking made her blind!" Bex shrieked.

At those words, Cammie started sobbing even harder, her body shaking so hard that she had to take violent gasps of air after each one.

"Cam...it's alright. We can fix this...we can fix this." I soothed, rocking her back and forth. She pulled back and tried to look at me. I bit my lip, uneasy about her unfocused stare. Her eyes were my favorite of her features – they always shined such a bright blue, they lit up when she was angry, they got abnormally large when she was surprised, they always showed such kindness and love. But now that was gone. Her eyes were dead and emotionless and blank.

"There's no cure for blindness, Zach," she hiccuped. "I'm stuck like this."

"You forget that we have a Jonas and a Liz on our side, darling," I tried to make a joke, but even before I said it I knew no one – not even myself – was going to laugh.

"Enough of this," my mother sighed. "Go!"

And they lunged forward. I quickly slid Cammie off my lap and onto the floor, and she fumbled around, trying to grab something to hold on to. I jumped up and immediately fell into a roundhouse kick, arms poised in fists near my jaw. I struck out and heard a crack, and felt warm liquid spew out onto my fingers. I didn't care.

They made my love sightless.

They made Cammie cry.

As I thought more and more about what just happened, I became even angrier, the emotion strengthening me. I struck out with my other fist, punching a woman in the neck. She fell to the floor, and a large, tall man took her place. I quickly pressed pressure points in both his wrists to make his arms immobile, and used his shoulder to flip myself up and completely over him, flying through the air.

I slammed my heel down on another Circle agent's head, and then landed on the ground. I grabbed the man I had used to jump up and made him collapse to the floor, and spun him around to trip two agents, one of them my mother. Then I slapped a napotine patch on him.

I looked up and saw that everybody else had unconscious agents littered around them. Hair was being flipped through the air, sweat was being produced, shouts and grunts were filling the silence.

I looked over to make sure Cammie was okay, and had a mini heart attack when I saw her slumped over on the floor, unconscious.

"It's okay," Jonas called, seeing my alarm, hurriedly blocking a punch with his arm and slapping a napotine patch on the man. "There's just so much that happened today that her body shut down. She'll be fine in a couple of hours."

I nodded and looked around for my mother. She was crawling on the floor, blood pouring from her head, a broken left foot. I walked over to her and pulled her up, shoving her against the wall.

"Zachary," was all she said.

"Cassandra." I said back.

"Oh, call me mother, dear. Because no matter what happens," she spat blood out of her mouth, and it splattered on my face. I didn't make a move to wipe it off – I just kept my eyes on hers, hands gripping her in place painfully. "you can't ever change blood. And you have mine in you, coursing through your veins. And nothing is stronger than family, don't you think, Zachy dear?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree. There are some things stronger than family. Hope." I pulled a knife out from my back pocket. I saw her eyes go wild, and she started flailing wildly, but her head wound made her weak. "Fear." I looked at her and glanced over at Cammie, who looked so vulnerable and weak.

"Love," I said. And with that, I plunged the knife through her chest, and felt her body go limp. Her last breath escaped through her lips, and with that she whispered, "_Traitor_."

I let go of her and she fell to the ground, lifeless. I stared at her in horror, blood and sweat staining my clothes.

I was in shock – my mind was spinning.

Not just my mind.

My vision was blurring.

I just killed Cassandra Goode.

I just killed my own mother.

I just killed the leader of the Circle.

I fell to the floor, and darkness surrounded me.

**Cammie's POV**

Darkness. Black. Endless abysses.

That was all I could see. Just shadows and darkness and black shapes. It was horrifying.

Blind. I was blind. That was one of the worst things that could ever happen to a spy – losing one of your senses. Those were the only things that you could rely one hundred percent on, and to lose one of them? It threw you off, it made you weak.

Losing one of your senses meant losing your career as a spy.

And mine had just begun – hell, it hadn't even begun yet.

I opened my eyes and was met with even more darkness, and I groaned and stretched. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know who was with me...I didn't even know if it was night or day.

"Hello?" I croaked out, sitting up. I felt I was on a bed, and there was a body laying next to me. I reached out and fumbled through the air for a second, until my fingers grazed skin. I felt tangled short hair, long lashes, pronounced cheekbones, full lips, a straight nose. I ran my hand along the jawline that my fingers had memorized so many months before, and laid back down next to Zach.

"Zach?" I whispered. "Are you awake?"

"Mmmmmmmm." he groaned.

"Can you wake up for a second, please? I'm thirsty," I said.

He stiffened, seeming to have remembered something. Then I felt him sit up so quickly that it jostled the mattress, and I blinked in surprise. His hand grazed my cheek, and I flinched in surprise, not having seen it coming.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. I nuzzled my face into his hand and kissed his palm. He pulled me into his lap and captured my lips with his, kissing me gently.

"Who else is in the room?" I asked.

"Everyone else is sleeping. Your mom and Mr. Solomon took away all of the unconscious Circle members. Some were dead." he hesitated and took a shaky breath. "I killed my mother, Cam. I killed her."

I gasped. "What? How...really?"

"Yea. I don't know why – I was just so caught up in the moment and...I don't know if I was supposed to or not. I passed out right after I killed her." he said.

"Does that mean that the Circle is...gone?" I whimpered in hope.

"Well, the Circle is probably scattered and in ruins now. There will still be bad agents, but they'll be confused and lost without their leader."

I smiled. "That's good!"

He chuckled. "Yes, that's very good."

My smile quickly disappeared. "The moment the people who've been hunting me for my whole life disappear, a new problem shows up.."

His grip tightened on me and he kissed my forehead lovingly. My lower lip quivered.

"I feel so helpless, Zach. I don't even know if the sun is up. I don't know if anyone else is in the room with me. I don't know where I am. I can't see your face," by the end of the sentence, I was crying again.

"Don't cry," he said. "We're going to fix this, Cam. We will."

"You can't!" I said. "You can't cure blindness."

"Don't say that," he growled. "You will see again, I swear it."

"Don't make empty promises, Zach," I whispered.

"Who says I am?"

**I'm really sorry for the late update! And with such a large cliffy!]: **

**I really am sorry. I'm amazed at the number of reviews you guys give me. Thank you so much.[: They make my day and inspire me to write. Thank you! **


	12. Dancing Underneath Lanterns

_"Don't cry," he said. "We're going to fix this, Cam. We will."_

_"You can't!" I said. "You can't cure blindness."_

_"Don't say that," he growled. "You will see again, I swear it."_

_"Don't make empty promises, Zach," I whispered._

_"Who says I am?"_

**Zach's POV**

We got out of bed, and the girls and Cammie's mom helped her dress and get ready.

"I swear, Macey, if I'm in some kind of see-through shirt or something, I'll get my sight back just to hurt you," Cammie threatened.

Macey rolled her eyes. "Stop being so dramatic. You can feel the material of the shirt, can't you? Cotton. You're wearing a cotton flowy tank top, and light-washed distressed shorts. You have on gladiator sandals, and your hair is just straight. Some mascara and eyeliner, lipstick, and voila! You're good to go. You don't look like you're about to go honey-pot some guy, I promise."

Cammie narrowed her clouded eyes, but nodded.

I walked over to her and hugged her. She relaxed into me, recognizing my scent.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her.

"A little," she admitted.

"Listen up, everyone," Joe shouted from the suite's kitchen. I took Cammie's hand and guided her there. "We're going back to Gallagher tomorrow. From there, I think that Dr. Steve, Jonas, and Liz could come up with a painless, inexpensive surgery or chemical or process for Cammie to get her eyesight back. There _are _operations, though all of them are risky. They could cause brain damage, or make her lose her chances of ever seeing again. Those are a last resort."

We all nodded.

"Start packing," Mrs. Morgan said.

"No! Don't you dare touch your stuff, girls. I'll pack for you," Macey went over to the over-flowing closets.

I rolled my eyes, and I saw Cammie doing the same. Macey was a little...controlling with her clothes and make-up, and we all knew it.

Bex shrugged. "Grant, wanna go sight-seeing?"

"Sure!" Grant grabbed her hand and out they went.

We were still in Paris, after all. Tristan went to go help Macey pack our stuff, and Jonas and Liz took out their laptops and started clacking away.

"Wanna grab something to eat, Gallagher Girl?" I murmured into her ear, wrapping my arms around her waist and pecking her on the neck.

Cammie smiled and nodded her head. We walked out of the room, hand-in-hand. She was getting better at walking on her own now, but I kept a hold of her hand, just in case.

And I would've been holding it, anyway.

We got onto the elevator, and Cammie accidentally walked straight into a twenty-something year old woman, who was a bit too skinny, and whose red hair was a bit too fake-looking.

"Watch it," she snapped.

Cammie murmured an apology, blushing a deep red, but I glared at the woman, a raw anger boiling up in my stomach.

"Don't talk to her like that," I snapped.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Awh, is your big macho boyfriend protecting you, little girl? Well, how 'bout this, boyfriend. Get your girlfriend some glasses, since she can't even seem to see what's standing right in front of her."

Cammie was biting her lip and looking down at the floor, but her fists were clenched and trembling. I saw her right eyebrow twitch, a sign that she wanted to punch something, and that she was going to lose her temper very soon.

The elevator doors closed, and we started descending.

"Damn straight, I'm protecting her. Maybe _you _should go purchase a brain, lady, because maybe the way I was guiding her down the hallway, or the way her eyes are unfocused, wasn't a big enough hint for you to realize that she's _blind_."

The lady's mouth fell open, and she blinked a few times. She said nothing, but got off on the next floor, where a couple was coming in, even though she pressed the Lobby button.

"Nice meeting you," I shouted after her, venom biting into my otherwise sweet words.

Cammie snorted, and then burst out into full-blown hysterics. She was laughing so hard that she stumbled, and I had to catch her, laughing too.

"That..." Cammie beamed up at me, the first time I've truly seen her smile since she lost her eyesight. "was amazing. Thank you."

I kissed the top of her head. "Anytime, Gallagher Girl."

We got out in the lobby, and decided to walk and find a restaurant instead of getting a taxi or taking a bus.

"Are you sure? It would be easier for you to..."

Cammie set her jaw. "No. We would've walked any other day. I don't want anything to be different."

I nodded, but then remembered she couldn't see me. "Alright."

We went to an outdoor diner, candles flickering on the tables even though it was day-time. We sat down, and I asked Cammie what she felt like eating.

"Hmmm, pasta."

"Alright. You wanna get a spicy tomato-basil pasta to share?"

"Sounds perfect."

I ordered the pasta, and just got us water. We talked and laughed, and once the food got here Cammie felt around for her fork. I wanted to place it in her hand for her, but she would just become annoyed. She's always liked doing things on her own, only accepting help when it was absolutely necessary.

She finally found it and I slid the plate more towards her, so it would be easier for her to reach.

She couldn't find the plate, even though it was a small table. She had knocked down a couple salt and pepper shakers, and her napkin fell to the floor.

People from other tables looked over and started staring at her oddly.

Cammie sighed and put her fork down, leaning her head down on the table.

I stroked her hair.

"Cammie..."

"I hate this. God, I hate this." she moaned.

"I know, baby. It'll get better. You just have to wait a little."

She nodded, and took a deep breath. "It's just so damn frustrating. I...I keep opening my eyes thinking I'll see, and nothing's there. All I see is this black darkness, and I've always hated the color black. Have I ever told you that?" Cammie shook her head, and started rubbing her temples.

I didn't answer – but she has - I gently took her hand and put her fork in for her, and closed her fingers around it.

I guided her hand to the plate, and she twirled it, gathering up the long strands of pasta.

She lifted the fork up and ate.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"No problem, Cam."

We ate in silence for a while, and I had to occasionally help her grab her water, or guide her back to the plate again.

Her face was sad again, her lower lip unconsciously jutting out a little more than her top one.

"Cammie," I said.

"Hmmm."

"You know I love you, right? With your eyesight or not...you'll always be Cammie. My pure, sarcastic, lovable, _beautiful_ Cammie. Don't forget that, alright?" I leaned over and kissed her cheek, lingering there.

She closed her eyes and smiled softly.

"I love you, too," was the only thing she said back.

We finished eating, and I paid the bill.

We stood up, connected hands, and walked away from the restaurant. It was evening now, and buildings were illuminated gold, street lights flickering on.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked Cammie.

"I'm not really sure what there is here, other than the Eiffel Tower," Cammie responded.

I was about to ask her if she wanted to go there, but caught myself just in time.

Of course she wouldn't want to go there.

She wouldn't be able to see it.

We would have to go someplace that she could enjoy, too, not anything like art museums or sight-seeing like we normally would've done.

We wandered down the streets for another hour, and I was getting desperate. So far, all of the signs and fliers were only something that would be interesting if you could see.

Cammie knew what I was doing, and she had said it would be okay if we just went to a museum or something, but I refused.

Suddenly, I heard music.

I lead Cammie towards it, and we had to climb a little hill. Standing at the top, I looked down at the scene.

Strings of lanterns were strung from the trees, making the people under it glow. There were live musicians, standing on the side of the street, making music, their chords and melodies winding around in the air. There was a violinist, a pianist, a guitarist, a drummer, and a singer.

Throngs of people were gathered around, laughing, cheering, and dancing.

I grinned. This was perfect.

"Come on!" I said to Cammie. "Let's go."

We made our way down the hill and into the tiny little festival, and were immediately caught up in dozens of people dancing.

The singer was belching out a song in French, which me and Cammie could easily understand. It was a song about loss, hardship, and love.

I pulled Cammie close and swayed with her. She didn't need to see to be able to dance. She followed my lead, and we moved together perfectly.

When that song was over, the band did a much more cheerful, up-beat song. Cammie laughed, which made me smile.

She threw her hands up in the air, and jumped to the rhythm, swaying her hips. Everybody else around us followed her lead, and soon we were jumping and spinning in the air, hands thrown up.

Everybody started singing along, the mixture of different keys and voices making us sound ridiculously awful. Nobody in the crowd seemed to care that they could barely hear the actual singer singing anymore – the excited mood under the lanterns was too contagious.

We danced through the night, the sun setting and the stars coming up. We danced in the chilly Paris night air, the cold not even touching us.

The blush on our cheeks and ragged breath didn't bother us at all.

We barely noticed how we were sweating from all of the dancing.

We both felt alive.

So, so alive.

**I hope you guys liked this chapter!**

**I really appreciate all of your reviews – you guys are all so amazing.[: **

**My summer break's comin' in one and a half weeks!**

**Hohhmygosh.**

**Once school's out I'll be able to update more, so yaay. **

**Alright. Review, please!**


	13. Decisions

_We danced through the night, the sun setting and the stars coming up. We danced in the chilly Paris night air, the cold not even touching us._

_The blush on our cheeks and ragged breath didn't bother us at all._

_We barely noticed how we were sweating from all of the dancing._

_We both felt alive._

_So, so alive._

**Cammie's POV**

Zach and I laughed and swung our hands between our bodies as we walked back to the hotel. The feel of his warm skin on mine made my head clearer, made the air less cold, made my heart hurt less. The sound of his laugh made my skin tingle, made my toes curl. He guided me along the streets of Paris, and for a couple minutes, I forgot that I was blind. I forgot that I was upset. I forgot that my spy career might be over before it's even began. I forgot that I might never see color again, that I might never see the green of Zach's eyes, or his smirk, or Liz's dimples, or clouds, or the ocean, or Macey's shiny night-black hair. I forgot it all, and through that I felt happy.

"And you know...I honestly _was_ afraid of starfish, Cammie. It's not funny. I shrieked whenever I saw one, and frankly, I think I still would if one was stuck to my arm or something today," Zach was telling me.

I snorted and rolled my sightless eyes. "You, Mr. Goode, are a pathetic excuse for a spy."

I heard Zach scoff. "That is utterly untrue, Ms. Morgan. You're just as afraid of chimps as I am of starfish, so we each have an irrational fear of a certain animal or aquatic sea creature. Ugly, lumpy, _evil_ aquatic sea creatures."

"I am _not deathly _of chimps. Just...a little nervous around them, that's all," I retorted.

"Oh? Is that why you almost started crying at the zoo when a chimp got close to you in its cage?"

I gasped, our over-dramatic, playful argument lightening my mood even more. "Who told you about that?"

"Just three little buggies."

"I'll squash them."

Zach laughed, and from the way his arm slightly jerked I could tell he had thrown his head back. He only did this when he was truly, extremely happy.

The thought of that made me grin like a madman. "You're happy, Zach. You're real happy right now, huh?"

Zach was silent for a while, moving only to guide me left.

"You know what, Cam...I am. I am really happy. I'm happy with everything that's happened."

"Everything? Even my eyesight going away? Even killing your mom?"

Zach took a while to answer. He breathed out slowly, loudly.

"She wasn't my mother, Cam. She never was and she never will get the chance to be. And I'm not _glad _your eyesight went away, but...I know that you can work through it. Whether you chose to have the operation or not, you're powerful and strong enough to _still _be a spy. You don't have to see to be an agent. You can hear better, the shallow breaths of the enemy agent sneaking up behind you, the click of a gun, the sharp sound of a knife. You can feel the vibrations on the floor as they run towards you, you can feel which way to turn just by judging how the wall ahead of it is built. Even blind, you'll still be a better agent than most in the field."

"Do you _honestly _believe that, Zach? That I can fight without my eyesight?"

"I really do. If anyone can do it, you can."

THE NEXT DAY, AT GALLAGHER.

"Are you ready, Cammie?" Dr. Steve asked me.

I felt Zach's hand gripping mine, and I swallowed thickly. I knew Mr. Solomon and my mom were lingering somewhere near the bed. Nobody else was allowed in the room.

I was lying on a cot in the infirmary. I tried to get my heartbeat to slow, my breathing to calm.

"Cammie? Darling, are you ready?" My mother's voice pierced my shallow breaths.

_Why am I hesitating? This is what you want. You want your eyesight back. But there's a chance that this operation might kill you. It could cause brain damage, or it just won't work. False hope is never a good thing. _

"Gallagher Girl...you know you don't have to do this," Zach whispered.

"I..." my voice cracked embarrassingly, and I tried to get it back under control. "I don't think I can do this." I quickly sat up, still tightly gripping Zach's hand. "I just don't think that it's worth the risks."

I moved my useless eyes around, feeling tears brim out of them. "I don't want brain damage, I don't want to die. And I'm going to hate change, I honestly will. But some things you just need to accept, right?"

I barked out a teary laugh. I felt Zach's hand tighten on mine.

"Change is inevitable. And this is just a large one that I'm going to have to face," I whispered.

The room was silent, and I heard Dr. Steve put his equipment down and take off his operation gloves.

"Are you sure about this, Cammie? This could ruin your spy career. You'll never see again, if you make" this choice."

I nodded. "I'm sure. And I _will _continue being a spy, I swear it. I'll train twice as hard, no matter how long it takes."

"And I'll be right by your side, Gallagher Girl," Zach said warmly. And for a moment, I longed to see his smile again. To see his emerald green eyes and that one tiny freckle near his left cheekbone. I reached out and cupped his face in my hands, and I could see it clearly.

I could imagine his face as clearly as if I were seeing it. His long lashes, his tousled brown hair, his soft, pink lips, his strong jaw line, his tan skin. His perfect, white teeth, and those little lines he got around his eyes when he smiled a genuine, happy smile.

"Well," Mr. Solomon said. Then he clapped his hands together, as he's done so many times before. "Well then. What the hell are we doing sitting around in this room? Let's get to work!"


	14. Our Story is Far From Over

_I nodded. "I'm sure. And I will continue being a spy, I swear it. I'll train twice as hard, no matter how long it takes."_

_"And I'll be right by your side, Gallagher Girl," Zach said warmly. And for a moment, I longed to see his smile again. To see his emerald green eyes and that one tiny freckle near his left cheekbone. I reached out and cupped his face in my hands, and I could see it clearly._

_I could imagine his face as clearly as if I were seeing it. His long lashes, his tousled brown hair, his soft, pink lips, his strong jaw line, his tan skin. His perfect, white teeth, and those little lines he got around his eyes when he smiled a genuine, happy smile._

_"Well," Mr. Solomon said. Then he clapped his hands together, as he's done so many times before. "Well then. What the hell are we doing sitting around in this room? Let's get to work!"_

**Cammie's POV**

_Pulsing. Beat, beat, beat. _

The air towards my left shifted a bit, and my hair fluttered back and tickled my neck.

I turned to the left and struck a foot out. I connected with something and I slid forward on the balls of my other foot and kicked up. I connected with a chin. I felt the vibrations from the floor as they landed in front of me, and I flipped over him. From the weight, I could tell it was Zach. My feet were bare as I glided across the floor, silently trying not to make my own vibrations, listening for Mr. Solomon.

_Breathing. Beat, beat, beat. _

Closer, coming closer.

Behind me.

I spun around and shoved a fist in front of her, swinging it to the left. I judged his height poorly and hit his chest. He grabbed my wrist and flipped me down onto the mat, pinning me down. I kicked up and got his weight off of me, and I grunted, springing up.

Mr. Solomon rolled to the side and flipped up back to his feet, and immediately started charging towards me. I heard Zach get up off the ground, and soon enough two pairs of footsteps were coming towards me. I went forward and sprinted away, flipping over Zach, who grabbed my waist and pulled me down. I let out a startled shriek and he flung me to the ground, pinning my wrists down.

I struggled pathetically and I could practically _feel _Zach's smirk.

"Give it up, Gallagher Girl. We've got you beat," he murmured in my ear, planting a soft kiss on my neck. Tears flowed out of my eyes and my made my body tremble.

"This is so _frustrating! _I hate this," I sobbed.

Zach's weight immediately lightened and I felt him staring down at me in concern. A thumb wiped my faux tears away. "Cam..."

A mischievous grin flashed across my lips before I leaned forward and pecked his lips. "Gotcha."

I sprung to my feet and kicked Zach down, and then ducked under Mr. Solomon's feet and roundhouse kicked the back of his head.

"Okay, okay!" Mr. Solomon laughed. "You've gotten good, Cammie. Very good."

I stopped and placed my hands on my knees, panting but grinning wildly. "Really?"

"Really, Gallagher Girl. Although the tears were not fair-play," Zach came over and tipped my chin up, placing a peck on my lips. I wrapped my arms around his sweaty neck and came up on my toes.

"Alright, children, break it up. No kissing in front of the teacher."

I giggled and pulled away, looking in the direction of Mr. Solomon's voice.

"But is this enough? Can I graduate with the rest of the seniors this year?"

There was a long pause as Mr. Solomon contemplated it. Either that or he was prolonging the moment to make me fidget in Zach's hold.

With a little chuckle, he said, "Yes, Ms. Morgan. You may graduate with the senior class of Gallagher this year. You've improved tremendously over the months, given your lack of sight, and you're already better than most of the kids if your grade. Keep training, and you'll be at the top again."

"Yes!" I shrieked, twirling around and throwing my fists into the air. Zach laughed and twirled me around in a hug.

"Congratulations, Cammie. But remember one thing."

"What is it?"

"You'll never be better than me."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Is that so, Mr. Goode?"

I felt him nod. "It is."

"Well then, I guess I'm going to have to prove to you how good I can get."

"That you will have to do."

**Time Skip: Four and a half years later.**

"Don't barf."

"Don't trip – god, for a spy you're quite clumsy, actually."

"Make sure you can breathe through your veil."

"Don't cry, it'll ruin your makeup."

"Oh, and-"

"Bex! Mace, Liz! I get it, I get it!" I laughed nervously. "You guys are making me more scared than I was before."

"You'll be fine, babe," Macey kissed me on the cheek, but then rubbed her lip gloss stain off with her thumb.

"This is your big day, Cam. Nothing can ruin it," Liz squeezed me in a tight hug.

"Now go get 'em, tiger!" Bex clapped me on the back. I heard their heels clack out the doors and into the room where my fiance was waiting.

"Are you ready to go, Cammie?" Mr. Solomon stepped up beside me on my right. I took a shaky breath and nodded.

"Make sure I don't fall, okay Joe?"

He laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Lacey white fabric swirled around my legs as I stepped up beside him, a transparent veil covering my face. I had spent days in that blasted wedding gown shop, feeling my way through fabrics and materials and designs.

I found one that Macey had describe to me: Floor length and simple, not too puffy but not too flat, white and lacey. It had small spaghetti straps holding itself up on my shoulders, exposing my neck. It crossed in the back, and exposed a lot of skin that was showing due to my clipped up curly hair.

I heard the wedding march start playing and my heart started beating erratically. Figures I'd be more nervous at my own wedding than while I was defusing a bomb in Switzerland. The room hushed as Joe and I stepped out, my hand placed in his arm. We walked slowly down the aisle, and I could feel my legs shaking. I sensed Zach's eyes on me, and I smiled gently.

Joe led me up the two steps and reluctantly placed my hand into Zach's.

"I can't believe this day has finally come. I bet Matt's screaming at me in heaven right now," Joe muttered.

Zach and I chuckled.

"You look gorgeous, as always, Gallagher Girl," he whispered to me.

"You don't look so bad yourself," I teased.

"...You can't see me."

"I can sense your attractiveness."

Zach laughed a little too loudly at that. Confused whispered ran throughout the crowd as the preacher started talking. I completely zoned out until Zach's voice broke through my reverie. He squeezed my hand and I looked towards the direction of his face.

"Cammie. For every single night this past month, I stayed up for hours and hours trying to figure out what to write down. To try and put into words my feelings towards you. Last night, I figured out that I couldn't. This feeling is too big and strong for words or syllables or sentences or paragraphs. I could keep everybody here their whole lives listing why and how much I love you, but we've got to eat sometime." Chuckles ran through the crowd, and I smiled shyly. "So I decided to just...talk. I didn't plan this out and I admit right at this second I'm looking at you and stalling because I'm distracted by all of your beauty laid out in front of me. I'm looking at you and wondering how in the world you can't see your beauty – even before you lost your sight. And so, Cammie, since I can't tell you how much I love you, I _can _make promises. And I promise to love you, every single day of forever, because that's how long we're going to be together. I promise to protect you and make you breakfast and take care of our future baby. I promise to be there for you and I promise to humor you. I can make all these promises and I just hope that you'll accept me, because I absolutely can not live without you. And you all better be recording this or something, because this is the last time anybody but Cammie's going to hear me so romantic."

More laughter rang through the crowd, and Zach squeezed my hand, telling me it was my turn.

"To be honest, Zach, you're an idiot. You just hope that I'll accept you? Why the hell do you think I'm standing up here in this ridiculously itchy wedding gown behind this stuffy veil when all I wanna do right now is jump you and never let go? I filled up about six notebooks trying to get my stupid vows right, and I couldn't find the words. Well, I found two. Thank you.

Thank you for always being there for me, somehow miraculously popping up whenever I'm in trouble. If I didn't love you so much, I would probably be worried you were stalking me or something. Thank you for helping me train and accepting me when I lost my eyesight. Thank you for being so annoyingly protective and thank you for loving me. I knew from the first time we met, in that elevator and you handed me your melted M&Ms, that you were the one for me. So thank you. I promise to love you and smack you when you're being cocky and try to cook for you and bring you surprises. I'm going to stop talking now because I'm babbling, and like you said, these people need to eat."

"Yea, hurry it up!" Grant shouted from the audience.

"Shush up, Grant, or I'm not gonna let you have any cake!" I shouted back.

He went silent.

"And, I'm kind of waiting for those six little special words that will finally let you kiss me..."

The preacher chuckled, and we both said our I do's. We slipped rings onto our fingers and looked at him expectantly.

"Okay, okay! You may now kiss the bride."

"_Finally_," Zach breathed out.

I could feel the crowd rolling their eyes as Zach gently pulled the veil away from my face, cupped my face in-between his palms and leaned closer.

"_I love you_," he whispered.

"_Just shut up and kiss me_," I whispered back, twining my arms around his neck. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, and the room erupted in cheers and clapping, little confetti poppers flying everywhere.

**Time skip: Two years after the wedding**

Pain erupted in my stomach and I clutched Zach's hand, feeling my nails pierce into his skin.

"Come on, baby, you can do it. Think about little Zachy Jr.!" he said.

"_Shut up_!" I shrieked at him. The doctor commanded me to push, and I complied.

"I am going to _murder _somebody! Why the hell do people _do _this? I would rather be biting my own foot off!"

"Alright, babe, you're doing great. You can murder somebody _after _you get our baby our of your tummy." Zach pushed my sweaty hair back from my forehead.

"First I'm going to kill _you_," I shouted at him. "And then I'm going to kill _you_!" I shouted at the nurse who kept commanding me to push.

Zach laughed and leaned down to press his lips to my forehead. "Almost there, Gallagher Girl. After this you can rest, baby. I promise."

With one last defeated shudder, I pushed, and cries filled the room. Zach leaned down and kissed me on the lips, and I relaxed and smiled.

"Born August 18th, 2018. Time, 3:48 A.M. Mr. Goode, Mrs. Goode? Welcome your little girl into the world."

We blinked at him. "Girl? He was supposed to be a boy!"

"Mistakes happen, Mrs. Goode. What will her name be?"

I smiled secretively with Zach. "Emmy. Her name will be Emmy."

I felt Zach shuffle forward and take the crying little bundle into his arms. He laughed softly and crooned, and I felt him rocking Emmy back and forth.

"What does she look like?"

"She has curly light brown hair – something she got from your father, I suppose? Green eyes. She has your nose and lips – and freckles. She's perfect."

I grinned from ear to ear. "I'm glad she got your eyes."

"I'm glad she got your pretty little face."

I rolled my eyes and held me arms out for her. He placed the soft bundle of blankets into my arms, and immediately Emmy started crying.

"I'm offended, Emmy. Why don't you like your daddy?" Zach teased.

I laughed and placed a hand on her small face. She had long lashes and a lot of hair for a newborn.

"She's ours, Zach." I grinned up at him. "We have a baby."

**Time skip: One and a half years later**

"Momma! Daddy mean!"

Emmy tripped into the kitchen, her long curls springing wildly around her face. She launched herself into my arms and I balanced her on my hip.  
>"Why is Daddy being mean to you?"<p>

I felt Emmy pout and wrap her small arms around my neck. "No cookie for me."

"Zachary Goode!" I chastised as I heard him walk into the kitchen. "Why won't you let Emmy have a cookie? Hoarding them all for yourself, I see!"

Zach walked over and pecked my lips but then pulled back, and I felt him pretending to glare at Emmy.

"You told on me to Mommy?"

Emmy nodded and stuck her tongue out at him. Zach laughed and kissed her on the top of her head, going to the cupboard to get her a cookie.

He held it out to her and she stared at it.

There was a long silence.

She shook her head.

"Don't want cookie."

Zach stared at Emmy incredulously. "You just said you wanted a cookie!"

"No more, no no no." Emmy giggled.

I laughed and twirled Emmy around the room. "Daddy just doesn't understand, does he, Emmy?"

"No, no, no! He no!" she shrieked and laughed. Zach stepped up behind us and placed his hands on my waist and his chin on the top of my head.

"Are you teaching our child to hate me, Cammie dear? You're an evil, evil woman."

The phone rang, clear and shrill. Zach picked it up and put it on speaker.

"Hello, Bexy!" he shouted.

"Call me Bexy one more time and your ass will be in the pits of hell. Speaking of asses, you and Cam are late! Get them down here! Have you forgotten about dinner?"

I threw a panicked glance at Zach.

We had forgotten about the dinner Macey and Tristan had invited us to.

"Bex! Language! There are children in the room!" Zach whispered.

Emmy squealed and jumped out of my arms. She fell on her hands and knees but got back up again, waddling to Zach. He pulled her up and held the phone out to her.

"Wanna say hi to Aunt Bex, Emmy?"

"_Hi Auntie Bex! Hi!_" Emmy shrieked.

Bex laughed on the other side of the phone. "Hello, Emmy! Tori's waiting to play with you! So tell your parents to hurry up and get ready!"

"Hurry up and get ready," Emmy mimicked her solemnly. I walked over and Zach grabbed my hand.

"Alright, alright. We're coming. See you in a few," I pressed the call off.

We drove to Macey and Tristan's huge estate and Zach helped me down from the car. I heard Emmy run forward to go play with the other kids.

Bex and Grant had Tori, a little girl just a bit older than Emmy. She picked up Bex's dark skin and accent, but Grant's personality. Liz and Jonas had a little boy younger than Emmy, Kai, just learning to walk. Macey and Tristan had twins, a boy and a girl. Brooklynn and Perris were their names, and they were still infants.

We all ate dinner and sat down, talking through the night. Zach was leaning back on his hands and I nuzzled my face into his neck, on his lap.

"So I guess our ending is a happy one, isn't it?" I asked him.

Zach laughed. "We're not dead yet, Cammie."

"Yea, but...we've all grown up. Graduated. We're going on missions and we have kids, and we're all still together. The Circle is gone. It's everything we could've ever hoped for."

"Yes, you are." Zach leaned down and left a lingering kiss on my lips, and I smiled into him, knowing that our story was far from ending.

**Gosh.**

**I don't know what to say.**

**This is the last chapter, guys! Stuck is now officially complete!**

**Okay, I've been getting a lot of reviews about Cammie's blindness, and it was a very big decision for me in this story. I didn't know whether I should sure her or not. And most of you wanted her to have her sight back, and so she could be happy and everything would be normal again. But for me...I just didn't like that. I'm sorry, you guys. But people change and bad things happen and real life isn't always perfect. In fact, it never is, and it's more interesting that way. People have to cope and learn to deal with their changes, and that's what Cammie had to do. So yea. I hope you guys understand that it's the only way I could be happy ending this story.[:**

**Thank you so much for sticking with me through this, I love you all for that. Your reviews were amazing and I appreciate each and every one of them. Thank you all so much, and I'll see you guys on my other stories. [':**


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